


Volume 1: A New Dawn

by ChristaWolf



Series: The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures [1]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2020-07-30 17:02:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20100601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChristaWolf/pseuds/ChristaWolf
Summary: Follow the adventures of the Thirteenth Doctor and her new friends, Michelle Lykos and the alien Catarrah, as they adventure across space and time.





	1. Episode 1: Striking Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newly regenerated, the Doctor lands in a small American city, where she meets two new friends: Michelle Lykos, a young trans woman struggling to escape her abusive home life, and Catarrah, an alien warrior wolf who's on the trail for one of her race's deadliest enemies: a Stenza.

The Doctor was falling. Not exactly to her doom, of course, that would be a waste of a regeneration if she did that. Even so, plummeting down from the sky at several hundred miles an hour was not exactly her favorite way of recuperating from a difficult change. It had felt different, this time… she just couldn’t put her finger on why.

The Doctor blinked. Suddenly she wasn’t falling anymore, she was back in her TARDIS, in the room she’d had since she first met Clara in Victorian London. Across the room was a man; her previous face, the grey-haired Scotsman. He was talking and looking grumpy, staring right at her. “Well done, we’ve crashed. Again,” he was saying. “Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve fallen from a great height, only now you’ve got no TARDIS. So, think fast. The faster you think, the slower it will pass. Concentrate. Assume you're going to survive. Always assume that. Imagine you've already survived. How did you get down?”

The Doctor opened her eyes again. She could see clouds, and the sky above, and the ground below. The air around her was cold. She didn’t have a parachute. Unless… maybe the obsession her last few bodies had had with long coats would come in handy. She struggled out of the dark coat and held it out above her like a drag chute.

The wind caught, and the coat billowed out above her head, the sleeves whipping back and forth. The Doctor smiled as her descent began to slow. “Atta girl,” said the Scotsman in her mind.

The Doctor’s jaw dropped. “I’m a woman?!”

* * *

[Title sequence](https://youtu.be/cBmMrbYywy0)

* * *

Elsewhere, the woods were dark, with only the distant stars and a moon to light the way. Not that this bothered Catarrah any. Her people were used to the dark, for her planet had no sun, only a few moons. She’d tracked her quarry to this world, a blue marble in the Sol system. After climbing out of her camouflaged ship, she grabbed her bow and arrow and padded out into the night.

Catarrah was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a human. She was at least bipedal, with a head, arms, and torso similar to that of humans, but that was about where the similarities ended. She was covered in dark gray fur with cream markings, with a bushy tail, a blocky muzzle, pointed ears that poked through her hair, and hands and feet that resembled (and in the case of the latter, really were) paws. In short, she looked like an Earth wolf that walked on two legs, and wore a navy blue jumpsuit.

She walked silently through the forest, searching for any sign of her prey. Her breath came out in little clouds, since it was cold. Harvest season had come and gone, and the trees were bare. The ground beneath her paws was damp from rain that had fallen earlier that day, which kept the fallen leaves from crunching.

After a while, she approached a clearing. Here there was a large blue shape. It was about as tall as she was, and shaped like a teardrop. Catarrah wasn’t sure what it was made of, but it seemed to be some type of frozen liquid. She took a deep sniff and frowned. It stank heavily of her target’s race.

“Stenza,” she growled.

Then her ears perked, and she looked up. She could just make out a descending speck, it was coming closer and closer toward her. What could it be? She reached back behind her, grabbed an arrow from her quiver, and held it to the drawstring. Then she drew the arrow back, and fired.

The arrow zoomed through the air toward the falling shape, hitting a large piece of fabric, which tore as the head went through it. The shape’s speed increased, and then it fell right on top of her, sending both of them to the ground.

“Oof… that’s one way to come in for a landing,” said the Doctor, getting to her feet. “Hello! Need a hand getting up?”

“I am fine,” said Catarrah, getting to her paws. She looked the Doctor over. “You do not appear to be Stenzan. This is good news.”

“Pfft, me? A Stenza warrior? Never in a million years,” the Doctor replied. “Not that there should be any on this world, of course.” She paused, looked around, and saw the teardrop in the distance, glowing in the moonlight. She frowned. “There aren’t, are there?”

“There is one,” Catarrah replied, and the Doctor could feel her hearts sink. “It is my mission to find them, and ensure their hunt ends in failure.”

“Why?” asked the Doctor.

“Because they are a menace,” answered Catarrah. “They believe hunting is a show of superiority and little else, it is a form of sport. They only take and steal, they do not earn. They are cruel, showing contempt to all they deem beneath them. They have ransacked many worlds before, and they shall do the same to this one, unless I find them.”

“Then what will you do?”

Catarrah’s reply was short and to the point. “I will kill them. The only good Stenza is a dead one.”

* * *

Tzim-Sha was a passionate hunter. He loved the screams his victims made as they died, he loved collecting teeth to wear on his face. (For one reason or another he was fond of back molars.) Some Stenzans put severed heads on their walls, others constructed necklaces out of fingers, (or their equivalents on non-humanoid species,) Tzim-Sha collected teeth, like some kind of blue demonic tooth fairy from Hell. Minus the wings and dress and magic wand, of course. He wasn’t a girl.

Tzim-Sha was the best Stenza warrior ever, everyone knew that. (They also kept getting his name wrong, but that was neither here nor there.) When he showed up to a hunting ground, all his prey would run in terror for fear of being caught by him, and the other warriors, regardless of species, would watch in awe as the best of the best proceeded to outdo them all.

Today, however, was more than just another day at the office for Tim. He was planning on becoming leader of the Stenza, and so they’d sent him here to locate a human trophy. Tim, of course, decided to get an edge on his competitors, and smuggled some other technology here, allowing it to gather information on potential quarries. Any human foolish enough to approach his ship would be selected, and after weeks of waiting, someone had taken the bait. Now, all he had to do was capture them and place them in a stasis pod back home.

And so, Tim wandered around through the main street of the town he’d landed in, a decently sized ex-urban city in the middle of the United States. He could see cars of all colors and makes trundling along, and people walking to-and-fro about their own business.

“Hey pal! What’s with the costume?!” shouted someone, a human male of about 30. He was white, with dark hair, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. “Halloween was yesterday!”

“THIS IS NOT A COSTUME,” boomed Tim, his voice echoing across the grocery store parking lot. “MY NAME IS TZIM-SHA, AND YOU WILL DIE.” He placed his hand on the man’s forehead, and the man screamed a blood-curdling shriek of horror, fear, and revulsion before finally collapsing to the ground, dead. Tim extracted a tooth, pressed it into his face, and then went down the street in search of more victims, his boots clomping loudly on the concrete.

* * *

Michelle Lykos was not exactly having a good day. Truth be told, she hadn’t exactly been having a good month or a good year either, as it seemed that the universe was out to get her. An attempt to move in with some friends in another state ended in her returning home after a week, back to her unsupportive parents. She’d been job-hunting ever since, but just like her hopes for transition, it had all gone up in smoke.

She was, simply put, tired. Tired of being largely penniless, tired of parents who refused to see her for who she truly was, tired of being imprisoned in an unsupportive town, (Her Congressional district had gone for the Orange Nightmare by 67%) tired of never moving forward, being frozen in what felt like an instant of time.  
It was this tiredness that had inspired her to take a new route when she’d gone on her walk, a few hours before sunset. Usually she just walked around the block her house was located in several times, but today she’d elected to visit the “outdoor classroom” belonging to her old high school. In truth, it was a small patch of forest located just off the baseball field, and perfectly accessible outside of school hours if you knew how to get there.

When she’d arrived, she found a weird blue teardrop-shaped object just standing there in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by metal benches meant for student use, on the rare occasion a class would actually be held in here. “The hell is this?” she’d asked no one particular. “Some kinda art project?” With some trepidation, she reached out and touched it, but drew her hand back almost immediately, swearing. “FUCK! That’s beyond cold! Way too cold for Missouri in late fall!”

After looking herself over, it seemed as though she wasn’t injured, so she shrugged and went on her way, putting the strange shape behind her. It wasn’t anything important, right?

In time, Michelle came home in time for dinner, which she ate quietly before retiring to her room for an evening of browsing social media and trying to forget about her problems, if only for a little while.

A little while didn’t last nearly long enough, however. She’d heard reports that a strange man with blue makeup festooned with teeth was wandering around town killing random innocents, and while ordinarily she wouldn’t dream of venturing into the same area as a mad gunman, the news reports never said he was armed… so, she decided to take the risk. After making sure the rest of her family was asleep, Michelle grabbed her phone and snuck out through the front door, heading down the street toward the main shopping district.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Catarrah were busy tracking down the mysterious Stenza warrior. Or at least Catarrah was, the Doctor was busily attempting to figure out where she’d landed. “Doesn’t smell like England… probably America. Kansas, maybe? And if it is Kansas, does that make me Dorothy and you Toto?” she asked her lupine companion.

Catarrah stared at her. “What in Lyksoia are you talking about?” she eventually asked.

The Doctor shrugged. “No idea! This new nose is so unreliable, I’m surprised I can even…” She stopped. “Oh, look! Tennis courts!” Their path had taken them out of the woods, past a baseball diamond, and down a service road, with tennis courts on their left. They were clearly on an American high school campus, a place the Doctor had never been to before. There was a main building where most of the classrooms were held, some smaller trailers next to that where other classes were held, and of course, the tennis courts.   
The Doctor spun around, taking everything in. “So these are American schools… they’re enormous!” Her voice echoed off various buildings as she got more and more excited.

“Silence!” Catarrah hissed. “We cannot hunt if you insist upon making a noise and alerting our prey to our whereabouts!”

“Well, I can't find my "prey" if I can't talk my way through things,” said the Doctor. “Ooh, that's neat, I'm a talker again! Love being a talker, I get up to all sorts of linguistic buffoonery!”

“I cannot sanction your buffoonery,” said Catarrah, looking very worn out all of a sudden. Then she raised a paw for silence. “Wait. Someone is coming. A human.”

At some point, their journey took them east, away from the school and down a residential street. As they passed one of the houses, (the owners had three dogs who were infamous for barking at everything whenever anyone passed by Their Backyard) the two aliens saw a curly haired human approaching from the other part of the intersection, wearing light grey pajamas decorated with coffee cups, old Ray-Bans, and black hook-and-loop leather tennis shoes. She looked at them in complete surprise, especially Catarrah.

“What the hell am I looking at?” Michelle said, walking up to Catarrah and poking her nose. It was cold and wet. “You... you can’t be real, right? This isn’t happening.”

“Oh, she’s totally real,” said the blonde haired woman next to the wolf. “Just like me! Hello! I’m the Doctor and this is Catarrah! What’s your name?”

The woman blinked. Paused. Looked briefly frightened, then said: “Michelle. My name is Michelle.”

“Are you sure you’re Michelle?” asked the Doctor. “You don’t sound sure.”

“She sounds afraid,” Catarrah said, and Michelle jumped back in shock. “There is fear in her scent.”

“I mean, I guess I’m scared,” Michelle said. “But not of my own name. I picked it out. You know, like the song? These are words that go together well, my Michelle...”

The Doctor beamed. “Oooh, a woman who knows her classical music! I like you, Michelle. Want to come help us with something?”

“I guess, sure,” said Michelle, stepping closer to the two aliens. “What kind of something?”

“We are searching for a Stenza warrior,” Catarrah said. “He is of a blue complexion and delights in killing his prey by flash-freezing them. He has been sighted in this area recently.”

“Oh! You mean the dude with teeth in his face? That guy?” Michelle nodded. “He was on the news. Why are you looking for him?”

“So we can have a chat,” said the Doctor, still smiling. She offered Michelle her hand. “Want to come?”

Michelle looked around, and after a few moments, grabbed the Doctor’s hand. “Let’s rock and roll.”

The Doctor laughed as the trio headed back down the street. “Oh, you’ve got spunk! I like spunk. I used to know a girl called Ace…”

* * *

By now, the strange trio had made it up to the main building of the high school. Catarrah said there was the smell of Stenza all over the building, it seemed as though their warrior had been using the place as a base of operations.

“Lucky it’s the weekend then,” Michelle commented. “Or else he would’ve killed a lot more people. How are we going to get in? The doors are usually locked after dark.”

“I have a solution for that!” the Doctor announced, withdrawing a strange blue and silver wand from her trouser pocket. It definitely looked as though it had seen better days. She pushed a button and the devices shakily buzzed into life. A moment later, the door locks clicked and the device fizzled out again. The Doctor sighed. “Aww… must’ve gotten damaged in the fall. I’ll have to build another one!”

Michelle pulled the double doors open and entered, stepping into a main foyer area with several hallways: the leftmost one led to locker rooms and a few class rooms, the one just in front of them was much longer with many more lockers and classrooms on either side, and two shorter ones on their right snaked around the auditorium, which was also to their right. She took a deep sniff of the air. “Still smells the same, even after all these years…”

“You’ve been here before?” asked the Doctor.

Michelle nodded. “This was where I went to high school, I graduated back in 2013.”

The Doctor smiled. “2013… now there was a great year.” She looked back down at the sonic in her hand. “Oh yeah. Michelle, is there a machine shop nearby?”

Michelle nodded, pointing down the center hallway. “Go straight and turn left when you get to the adjoining hall that leads to the cafeteria. On the lefthand side you’ll see a classroom with the name Fox on a sign next to it. That’s the room you’ll want. I never had a class there though, so I don’t know what all they have.”

“Got it! Thanks Michelle!” And the Doctor ran off, her raggedy red-lined coat flapping along behind her.

Catarrah looked around thoughtfully, and turned to face a spiral staircase just behind them, which led to a second floor. This was where the administration offices were, as well as further classrooms and lockers. “Are there laboratories nearby?” she asked Michelle.

The human nodded. “Up the stairs, then go straight down the first hallway you see, the one with all the red lockers and an interior window shaped like a semi-circle. Down toward the end is the science department, they’ve got plenty of equipment and stuff in there.”

“Thank you,” replied Catarrah. “I shall endeavor to return momentarily.” And without another word she began to climb the stairs, her claws clicking on the tiles. 

Michelle watched her go, heaving a sigh. “Aliens… who needs ‘em,” she muttered, walking down the short hallway, where a vending machine lit up the otherwise dark corridor. She dropped a few coins in, took out a bottle of Pepsi, and drank. It wasn’t coffee, but it would do for now.

* * *

The Doctor, meanwhile, stepped into the metal-working classroom, looking like a kid in a candy store. Casting off her frayed coat, she’d found gloves and an apron, as well as a pair of goggles to protect her eyes. “Right! This is gonna be fun!” she said to no one in particular. 

She ran around the lab, gathering as many metal pieces as she could carry, and beginning to melt them down, and even recycling bits of her old sonic to use in her design. She kept at it, fashioning circuit boards and a glowing geode. In no time at all she had what she wanted: a brand new sonic screwdriver, built by her own two hands.

Once it was cool, she grabbed it and pressed the button. The geode glowed bright like a torch, and it made a pleasant buzzing noise. She twirled it in one hand and waved it around like a wand, grinning broadly. “Aw, brilliant!” she exclaimed, throwing off the apron. “Now let’s see what the other two are up to, shall we?” She strode from the room, heading to the nearest staircase. (There was one, it was a spiral staircase surrounded by four planted trees, it led up to the second floor.)

* * *

The science classrooms Michelle had mentioned were a wreck. Tables had been pushed together with alien technology littering their surfaces, in particular a large bundle of wires and cables that had been lashed together to create a larger mass. Catarrah entered, and when she saw the gathering coils, her jaw dropped. “By the moons of Lyksoia…” she whispered. “The hunter is a cheat.” She took out something not unlike a tricorder from the pocket of her jumpsuit and jammed it into the pile of coils. At once, hundreds of holographic images shimmered into existence, all of them showing various humans.

Her ears perked up and moved back at the sound of footsteps. She turned, and saw the Doctor standing in the doorway, watching. “Find anything?” she asked. “This place looks like a right old wreck!”

“Indeed I did,” Catarrah answered, stepping to one side so the Doctor could see the gathering coils. “It appears our prey has been gathering intelligence ahead of his arrival. Its scent is older than his.”

“Did he find anyone?” The Doctor stepped closer and jammed her newly-built sonic into the coils, and the image changed. They saw a human with curly hair and glasses, the same one from downstairs. She was approaching something, and reached out to touch it, almost immediately drawing her hand back, as if burned. The image flickered out, and the wolf and the Time Lord stood alone in the dark classroom.

“We should find her,” said the Doctor at once. “For all we know she might be in trouble.”

“I agree,” said Catarrah, and they left, splitting up so they could cover more ground more quickly.

* * *

Michelle wasn’t in the school anymore. She had left through another entrance, this one just off the gymnasium on the second floor. This took her to the football field, which had a running track circling the edges, and metal bleachers along one side. She was sitting on the topmost level, shivering in the cold November air. She knew she shouldn’t be sitting out here with only a thin pair of flannel pajamas, but she couldn’t bring herself to care, either. A quick check of her phone revealed it was 29 degrees, and she smiled grimly. “Maybe I’ll freeze to death...”

The quiet didn’t last long, however, for there came the sound of clomping as Tzim-Sha walked down the street. He could just about detect the presence of a human in close proximity to him, and something told him he knew who it was. He climbed over the fence and began to scale the far side of the bleachers, making a loud metallic racket as he went.

Michelle looked over and cupped her hands to her mouth, then said “HEY! WHO GOES THERE?”

“I AM TZIM-SHA OF THE STENZA WARRIOR RACE!” Tim shouted, heaving himself up. “YOU ARE MY TARGET, WEAK EARTH SCUM! I SHALL TAKE YOU BACK TO MY HOME PLANET AND DISPLAY YOU AS MY TROPHY!” (Somewhere nearby, the Doctor quietly asked, “Is that his name? Tim Shaw?”)

Michelle stared at him. “You’re kidding, right? I could hear you coming before you started shouting. What kind of warrior are you?”

“THE BEST WARRIOR THE STENZA RACE HAS EVER SEEN!” boomed Tim, panting heavily as he heaved himself onto the nearest bench, quite a few seats down from her.

Michelle sighed. “Oh great, you’re an alien Donald Trump with more teeth than a member of the Osmond family. And you somehow think you’re going to make me your trophy? How are you going to do that?”

“I WAS TRYING TO SNEAK UP ON YOU!” said Tim. 

Michelle chuckled. “Didn’t work, big guy. If I’m supposed to be scared, I have some terrible news.” She stood up, looking down at him. “Why are you here?”

“I... WAS SENT... TO CATCH... A HUMAN...” Tim explained, “YOU... ARE MY... TARGET...”

“And does this plan of yours involve me dying at some point?” Michelle asked.

“EVENTUALLY. WHY DO YOU ASK?”

“Well, l hadn’t planned on dying tonight, but I gotta admit, it sounds like a better option than anything else I’ve tried,” Michelle answered.

Tim blinked. He hadn’t been expecting that. “...WAIT, WHAT?”

Michelle sat back down again, looking at her would-be killer. “Look, big guy, here’s the thing: I have no job, a pointless college degree, no chance at transitioning or moving out, and I live with parents who constantly insist that they’re supportive of queer people but when it came time to support their transgender daughter, meaning me, they never actually showed the fuck up. Instead I got bitched at and told my feelings weren’t real. That’s the story of the last few years for me, an endless series of unfortunate events. I have nothing to lose except a shitty life. So... take me, blue tooth fairy. End my story for me so I don’t have to.”

Tim sighed. He was beginning to think this human wasn’t worth the effort. “NO.”

Michelle’s jaw dropped. “What?! Oh for fuck’s sake, are you kidding me? Even the big scary alien bounty hunter won’t help? Man, this is bullshit. What the hell is your deal?”

“I WILL NOT KILL PREY THAT WISH TO DIE. IT IS AGAINST OUR CODE. I AM A HUNTER. MY PREY MUST BE UNWILLING.”

Michelle pointed behind her. “Then do yourself a favor, get in that giant Hershey’s kiss of yours, get on I-70, and start going east. You’ll hit St. Louis in about 45 minutes or so. For a real good time, go across the river into the Metro East, that place is nasty.” She did not add that East St. Louis would turn him into Swiss cheese the moment he arrived.

Tim shook his head. “I LANDED HERE, I SHALL FIND A VICTIM HERE. BUT IT WILL NOT BE YOU. YOU ARE UNWORTHY.” He left, stumping down the bleachers and going back toward the woods.

Michelle climbed down the bleachers too, and began to walk back toward the auditorium entrance. As she passed the gates leading to the track, the Doctor and Catarrah appeared from behind a tree. “There you are!” said the Doctor, coming over. “We were looking all over for you!”

“How much of that did you hear?” Michelle asked.

“All of it,” replied Catarrah. “You have a fascinating way of dealing with would-be assassins.”

“Some assassin,” Michelle said, looking between them both. “I assume you heard what I told him?”

The Doctor nodded, and she wrapped Michelle up in a bone-crushing hug. “I’m really sorry your parents treated you so awfully,” she said softly. “No parent should abuse their children like that for any reason, but especially not for being who they are.” She drew back.

Michelle shrugged. “Thanks, I guess… but it’s just normal for me. I grew up walking on eggshells around my parents, especially my mom. That meant always hiding, never being truly honest with them about anything. Even now, four years after I came out, they don’t see me for who I am.” She met the blonde woman’s gaze. “Do you know what that’s like, Doctor?”

The Doctor thought of Clara Oswald, after regenerating on Trenzalore and fighting the Half-Face Man. She remembered Clara looking at her, but not seeing her. “You can't see me, can you? You look at me, and you can't see me. I'm not on the phone, I'm right here, standing in front of you. Please, just, just see me,” she had said at the time.

“Yes,” said the Doctor gently. “I know exactly how it feels. It got better for me... maybe it will for you too.”

Michelle looked away. “And maybe Hell will freeze over,” she said. “I’m not looking for some kind of promised land, Doctor. I know there isn’t one.” She began to walk away from them both, across the parking lot to the street that would take her home. She turned back to the Doctor and called, “Find someone else to help save the world... you don’t need someone like me on your team.” Then, she was gone, vanishing into the night.

* * *

The morning sun rose silently over the town. It shone through Michelle’s window,  
waking her up. She’d gotten home around midnight and did her best to put the events of the previous night behind her, like it had been a dream. Swinging her legs over the bed, she pulled on her slippers and wandered into the living room/kitchen, pressing the button for the coffee machine. It clicked on and began to heat up, and she went about her normal morning routine: put in coffee pod, place cup beneath hole, press brew button, receive coffee, add cream and sugar, stir, enjoy.

While all that was going on she fired up her laptop (a space grey MacBook Pro), put in her password, and busied herself with checking out all her various news sites. The British ones didn’t have much, but the one for KMOV (the St. Louis CBS affiliate) had a story about a blue serial killer who’d offed one of their reporters on live television the night before.

“Shit…” Michelle whispered. “It wasn’t a dream.”

* * *

As she went about her day, she noticed some odd things were going on. The canister that held the coffee pods had been almost empty, but when she’d gone to fetch her cup, she found it full, same with the sugar bowl. Her cup had been thoroughly cleaned, as well. Her phone was fully charged in the space of an eye blink. When she’d gone out for her morning walk, the road was devoid of roadkill and the very annoying dogs were playing with some rope toys. 

She was having, by all accounts, a good day. Even her parents were on their best behavior: her dad kept getting calls for rides (he worked for a ride-sharing company), which kept him out of the house, and her mom spent the day reading a book on her Kindle, which always had a full battery.

At around 4:30, Michelle went out for her evening walk. That was when she had company. There she was, bundled up in her jeans and tennis shoes and the dark duffel coat she’d bought in London, approaching the intersection between her street and the one that led to the high school (and the elementary school) when she saw a figure on the other side.

The figure had blonde hair, and she wore a pale blue coat with a dark blue shirt decorated with a rainbow, blue trousers, and brown boots with colorful socks. When she saw Michelle, she ran across the street and embraced her, beaming. “I was wondering when you’d come out!” the Doctor said. “I thought you’d never show up!”  
“Were you waiting for me?” Michelle asked, confused. “Also, nice threads.”

“Glad you like ‘em!” The Doctor nodded enthusiastically. “I got ‘em from this shop called Target. I had to break in, but I left money by one of the tills!” She didn’t add that the money wasn’t US dollars, but British pounds and shillings from 1963. “Anyway, yeah, I was waiting for you. I figured you were having a bad day, with what you said last night, so I decided to cheer you up!”

“Oh.” Michelle smiled a little. “Thanks. No one’s ever done that for me before.”

“You’ve had a pretty rough time of it, haven’t you?” commented the Doctor, falling into step beside Michelle.

Michelle nodded. “Yeah… realizing I was trans was one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, it’s everything that came after that sucked.” She remembered something. “You said you knew how it felt, not to be seen by someone you cared about… are you trans too?”

The Doctor shrugged. “Kind of? I guess you could say I am, in human terms. You should’ve seen me yesterday, before I got here I was a white-haired Scotsman.”

Michelle blinked, looking the Doctor up and down. “Either that was one hell of an HRT regimen you were on… or you’re not human.” She paused. “You’re not, are you? You’re an alien, like… I dunno, one of those murderous saltshakers that invaded the Earth when I was in middle school? Planets in the sky and all that stuff?”

“I’m not a Dalek, but I know what you mean,” said the Doctor. “Yes, I’m an alien.”

“So then, if you’re not a… Daylek, what are you?”

“Dah-lek,” corrected the Doctor. “I’m a Time Lord, from the planet Gallifrey.”

Michelle nodded slowly. “Okaaaay… and this relates to you previously being a white-haired Scottish guy how, exactly?”

“Time Lords have this little trick, it's sort of a way of cheating death,” explained the Doctor. “I stand like this,” she stopped and threw out her arms, “then I get covered in this golden energy, and then… I just change. Every cell in my body burns, and when it’s over I’m a whole new person.”

Michelle’s eyes were very wide. “Okay, yeah. That’s weird. Sounds scary,”

The Doctor nodded, “Oh yeah, it’s very scary. Some of my changes have been worse than others. There's this moment when you're sure you're about to die and then… you're born. You know what I mean?”

Michelle nodded. “Yeah. I do. I like to say that I was reborn when I realized I was trans. I guess it’s kinda like what you do, minus the fireworks.”

“Exactly!” The Doctor grinned. “I’m glad I met you, Michelle. I think we’re going to be great friends.”

“I hope you’re right,” Michelle said, her smile fading. “The last time I got close to someone, I got burned.”

“That won’t be happening this time,” the Doctor said, and something in her voice made Michelle believe her. The Doctor took her hand and said, “You need help. And when people need help, I never refuse. My last self, before he let go, he said to be kind. And I’m gonna do that. That’s what being a Doctor is all about: laughing hard, running fast, and being kind.” She met Michelle’s eyes. “Want to come along?”

Michelle thought of her life, and everything that had happened in the last four years, almost five. She thought of friends she’d made and lost. Old romances. Promises of help that were rescinded. People she’d loved who’d abandoned her. She thought of the Doctor, and what she represented: a chance to escape. She knew there could only be one response.

“Yes,” said Michelle Lykos, future time traveler. “I’ll come.”

* * *

When she’d been a little pup, Catarrah’s mothers had instilled within her two things: the importance of pack, and how a true hunter was supposed to act. Both of those things were related: for a pack to thrive, they had to hunt. And in order to hunt, one had to be part of a pack, for hunting alone (even for the most well-trained Lykosian) meant certain death. 

A Lykosian has three main weapons in their arsenal: their claws, their teeth, and their weapon of choice. Each pup, when they are old enough to join the hunt, is given a choice of weapons to use. Catarrah had excellent vision and hand-eye coordination even for one of her kind, so she’d picked a bow and arrow. Her skill had given her one of the best hunting records on all of Lyksoia, and while she was proud of it, she knew not to let it consume her.

Thus, by Lykosian standards, Tzim-Sha (as well as all Stenza) were the worst hunters this side of Andromeda. Catarrah knew to keep quiet at all times, and to always stay downwind of her prey. She knew only to take the lives of the weak and sick, so that a herd of deer (for example) may remain healthy. And most importantly, she knew that hunting for sport was cruel and inhumane, it demeaned the lives of the hunter as well as the prey.

The Stenza did none of these things. You could hear them coming even if you had poor hearing, as humans did (in her estimation). They were loud and boastful, and hunted only for sport rather than survival. They did not respect the lives of those they killed, but diminished them, and placed themselves above all others. Catarrah knew she could not kill all Stenzas, but she could at least kill Tzim-Sha, and she would do so, no matter what the Doctor had to say.

So, while the Doctor went about looking after the human she’d befriended, Catarrah busied herself with cleaning her bow and arrow and wondering how best to kill Tzim-Sha. Ideally, she would be able to kill him and destroy his ship, so on the off chance her mission failed (which was not uncommon among those of her species) he would have no way of returning to his home planet. But how?

“What do I know of gathering coils...” wondered the warrior wolf, idly inspecting the claws on her forepaw. “They are usually connected to the being that uses them... as he is a cheat, the Stenzan likely has them connected to his own vessel... if that is the case, perhaps I could disintegrate them both...”

Seized with an idea, she got onto all fours and ran back to the human school, and into the classroom where she and the Doctor had found the coils the previous night. They were still there, on the table where she’d left them. Smiling, she took the tip of an arrow and cut off a short piece of cable. Then she hooked the cable into a nearby wall outlet, unplugged the nearest lamp, and plugged it straight into the cable segment. Then she crossed the room and flipped the switch.

The reaction was immediate: the piece of cable sparked and exploded with a burst of flame as electric current hit it, and she smiled more. Now her teeth were showing. “A good start... but surely there must be a way to do this from a distance…” Pleased with her success, she ran off toward her own ship.

* * *

In his space pod, Tim Shaw was in a thoughtful mood. The human girl he’d met had made an impression on him. She wished for death... he'd never seen anything like that before. And he couldn't bring himself to do as she'd asked. She deserved a chance to live. 

Tim pressed a button on his control board, and Michelle was beamed directly into the main bridge. She saw Tim and rolled her eyes. “Oh great, Captain Tooth Fairy is back. What do you want?"

"I wished to speak with you," Tim replied, not yelling for once. "Your story... it touched me."

Michelle blinked. "It did?"

Tim nodded. "You wish to know why I spared your life, yes?"

She nodded. "Yeah... I do."

Tim was quiet for a little longer, considering his words. But after a few moments, he began to speak: "When you told me of all the pain you've experienced in your life, and that you wished for death... I've never come across anything like that before."

"Really?" Michelle said in surprise. "Not even once?"

Tim shook his head. "Your friend, the Lykosian... her species is a superior breed of warrior. We Stenza are taught from a young age to kill for sport, not to benefit the collective. And when you told me your truth... I realized I could not kill you, because it would be a crueler fate than you deserve.”

“Then… what are you going to do now?” asked Michelle. “Drop the whole hunting thing and do something else? Go vegan?”

“No,” said Tim. “I cannot. I have always been a warrior, I cannot become a creature of peace. Since you and the Lykosian will not work, that leaves but one target left.”

Michelle paled.

At once, Michelle got to her feet and began walking toward what looked like an exit door. 

“THAT DOOR WILL NOT OPEN FOR YOU, EARTH CREATURE,” Tim boomed, when he saw what she was doing. Evidently the moment of quiet had passed. “IT IS KEYED TO MY GENETIC CODE. PLEASE BE STILL, WE ARE ABOUT TO LIFT OFF.” He pulled a lever and the pod lifted up into the air, soaring over the trees toward where the radar said the Doctor was.

* * *

By this time, the Doctor and Catarrah had moved back to the school. They now stood in the empty cafeteria, trying to trace back the teleport that had been used to spirit Michelle away. The two aliens didn’t have to wait long however, because the source of the teleport was now zooming around outside as though searching for someone. It careened through a set of double doors, sending glass and metal onto the tile floor. 

As the ship came to rest, a hologram of Tim flickered into existence in front of the Doctor. “DOCTOR, I HAVE CAPTURED YOUR FRIEND. SHE IS NOW MY HOSTAGE. ATTEMPT TO RESCUE HER, AND I WILL TAKE YOU ALL TO MY HOMEWORLD AS MY TROPHIES.”

“And what if I don’t rescue her?” asked the Doctor, placing her hands on her hips. “She’s a capable woman, she can get herself out of trouble.”

“THEN SHE WILL DIE,” Tim lied.

“Ah, but that’s no good because then you’ll just have two dead hostages and no me,” the Doctor pointed out, now pacing back and forth. “You know, Timmy, for a warrior, you’re not very good at it. I mean, look at you, hiding behind a display of bluster and bravado, like you’re the cleverest person in the room!”

“I used to be a lot like you, two or three bodies back,” she continued. “I always thought I was the best, and everyone else couldn’t hold a candle to me. I was vain and egotistical, just like you are now. But I’m not like that anymore, I grew up. Don’t you get it?” She continued smiling. “We all change, when you think about it. We're all different people all through our lives, we can honor who we've been and choose who we want to be next.” Now she looked hopeful. “Now’s your chance to do the same. How about it?”

“I WILL NOT SUBMIT TO YOUR WEAKNESS, DOCTOR,” Tim snarled. “I AM A WARRIOR, IT IS REQUIRED THAT I CAPTURE PREY. I WILL NOT BE CONQUERED, I WILL-” The image flickered and died, as inside the ship, Tim had fallen over, owing to the fact that Michelle had pushed him into the control board and slammed his head on a panel.

Michelle strode out of the ship, finishing his sentence for him. “Will get your ass kicked by a girl from Earth with weak upper body strength.”

“Well done,” Catarrah said, a smirk on her muzzle. “You are quite a fascinating specimen, Michelle Lykos.”

The Doctor was smirking too. “Oi! Sort out your love lives later, ladies,” she said. “I’ve got a Stenza warrior to take care of first!”

“I?” Michelle echoed. “What’s this I stuff? Why does it have to be you specifically? Why can’t it be all of us?”

“Because I can’t risk him hurting either of you,” replied the Doctor. “I’m the Doctor, that means I have a duty of care. This planet has been under my protection since you humans first discovered fire.”

Michelle still looked unconvinced. “Okay, great. You said you’re 2,000 years old, right? Did you, over all that time, just save the world from aliens without anyone to help?”

“No,” the Doctor replied. “Lots of people helped me, more than I can name.”

Michelle smiled. “Then let us help you now. The whole “I alone can fix it” thing may have worked when you looked like a man, but you’re a woman now. And what do women do? We stick together. We solve problems together. We survive together. Get me?”

“Michelle is correct,” added Catarrah. “My kind have a saying: ‘A lone wolf gathers no meat.’ It means that one wolf cannot hunt on her own, she must hunt with others. Each of us has skills that will allow the pack to succeed. You have two millennia of lived experience. I am an archer. Michelle has wisdom. By combining our talents, we can take down our prey and ensure he does not harm any living creature. He is one... we are three. It is the strength of three that will defeat him.”

“Very well, ladies,” said the Doctor, smiling now. “You’ve convinced me. Got any ideas?”

“I have a proposal,” Catarrah interrupted. “Specifically, we destroy his gathering coils. Since his vessel provides them with power, blowing up the coils will destroy his ship as well, including himself.”

“No, no, no!” exclaimed the Doctor. “I’ve done the whole ‘killing your enemies’ thing, it never leads anywhere good! Obviously we have to keep him from phoning home, or the other way ‘round, but I don’t know how to get there. Usually I just improvise.”

“If you do not plan on his demise, then any scheme you try to put into action is doomed to fail, because he can always escape and return to menace you later,” said Catarrah flatly.

“I don’t know, Cat, I’m with the Doc on this one,” said Michelle. “I mean, I asked this guy to kill me and he refused because he said it would be cruel. That proves he’s not too far gone. He can be redeemed if we just try.”

The Doctor nodded approvingly, and put her hand on Catarrah’s shoulder, smiling. “There’s more to life than just the hunt, Catarrah. Let’s try it Michelle’s way. You never know where it might lead.”

“Very well,” said Catarrah, stowing away her bow. “What do we do now?”

“We wait,” said Michelle, getting to her feet. “I knocked him out pretty hard, so it might be a while before he gets up. Anyone hungry?”

The Doctor beamed. “Thought you’d never ask.”

* * *

A little while later, the three of them were sitting together around one of the cafeteria tables, with three paper bags from one of the many burger restaurants in the area. “How do you like your ButterBurger, Cat?” Michelle asked Catarrah.

“It is unlike anything I have ever tasted before,” replied Catarrah. “I never knew meat could be prepared in such a fashion. It is delicious.”

Michelle chuckled. “Us humans are pretty creative when it comes to food, with so many different cultures all around the world.”

“When you think about it,” the Doctor said, after swallowing a mouthful of her own burger, “Food is a lot like traveling the universe. You can find the most wonderful things in the most unexpected places!”

“Yeah?” Michelle looked over at her. “Like what?”

The Doctor grinned. “Lemme tell you about fish custard…”

* * *

That evening, the Doctor, Michelle, and Catarrah had hidden themselves in various places near the cafeteria, waiting for Tim Shaw to awaken. The cafeteria was dark by now, with the only light coming from outside.

A panel on the side of Tim’s ship slid open, and the big man himself stepped into view. On the other side of the room, the Doctor came out from her hiding place, and locked eyes with him. “So here you are, Tim Shaw, soon to be the leader of the Stenza warriors,” said the Doctor, pacing back and forth. “What are you now, the office junior?”

“DON’T BE ABSURD,” Tim replied. “Once they learn I collected a Time Lord, my victory will be complete.”

“Oh yeah?” The Doctor chuckled. “But here’s the thing! Unless you have me and my TARDIS, your so-called victory won’t mean a thing, and that’s if I let you catch me! I won’t, of course.” Her smile faded. “I’ve been around the block a few times, Timmy. Want to guess how old I am?”

“I DO NOT,” said Tim. “IT IS IMPOLITE TO ASK A LADY HER AGE.”

The Doctor laughed at that. “Alright, that was good. But it’s okay, because I’m inviting you to guess! Go on, please?” She made a pouting expression.

Tim sighed. “VERY WELL. I GUESS THAT YOU ARE THIRTY SEVEN CYCLES OLD.”

The Doctor blushed. “Thank you, but I’m actually 2,000 years old. And in all that time, I’ve defended the Earth more times than I can count, literally. Daleks, Cybermen, Slitheen, Sontarans, WOTAN, Silurians, and so many more, and I’ve defeated them all!” By now she’d moved in a circle, drawing Tim closer to his ship. “In case you haven’t noticed yet, Timmy, I am far more than just another Time Lord.” She paused for dramatic effect. 

“I’m the Doctor.”

That got Tim’s attention, but not quite in the way the Doctor imagined. Usually, this was the part of her day where the villain realized who they were dealing with and ran in the opposite direction. Even Daleks weren’t immune, forever dropping everything else to focus entirely on her.

Tim Shaw, of course, was different. He gave her a lecherous grin and said, “Then truly, you are a prize beyond imagining, Doctor. I AM GOING TO ENJOY BRINGING YOU BACK TO MY HOME PLANET.” Then he advanced toward her, right into the path of a certain lupine archer.

With a snapping noise and a whoosh, the arrow zoomed right past Tim Shaw’s head, missing him by inches. Surprised, he spun around and turned to face Catarrah, who was watching from the shadows. “YOU MISSED.”

“I never miss,” replied Catarrah. “That was just to distract you.” She turned to Michelle. “It is your turn now.”

Michelle nodded and stepped forward, she and Catarrah flanking the Doctor. “Listen… Tzim-Sha. You didn’t have to let me live. You could’ve killed me when you had the chance, but you didn’t, because you said it would be cruel.” She jerked a thumb at the Doctor. “Killing her would be cruel too. I haven’t known her for super long, but from what she’s told me, the Doctor is a hero, a real one. And we need heroes. Kill her, and you’d be cruel to the rest of the universe. Do you want that?”

Tzim-Sha paused. “No,” he said finally.

“You can be more than a warrior, Tzim-Sha,” added Catarrah. “Prior to meeting the Doctor, my plan had been to kill you, as I believed you to be a malignant influence on the universe. But now, I see that killing one Stenza warrior would not solve the problem. Your case has proven to me that something is deeply wrong with Stenza culture, and an effort must be made to fix it. Just as I will fix my own issues.” She lowered her bow. “Today, I swear to never raise my bow to take a life. You can make a similar vow, if you wish.”

At length, Tzim-Sha nodded. “Doctor… Michelle… Catarrah. In my culture, women are viewed as weak, merely lifegivers to the next generation of warriors. You have shown me that I must listen to them if I am to eradicate the evil within myself and my race. For that, you have my thanks.”

“What will you do now?” asked the Doctor.

“Return to my planet, and begin anew,” Tzim-Sha replied. “Goodbye… and thank you.” Then, one by one, he removed the teeth that had been affixed to his face, and stepped into his ship. The door panel slid closed, and with a hum, the ship began to hover before flying through the broken glass door and out into the night, never to be seen again.

* * *

“Sooo… now what?” Michelle asked, as she, the Doctor, and Catarrah began walking away from the school grounds.

“Well,” began the Doctor, “I’d normally go back to the TARDIS… but I don’t really have it right now.”

Michelle blinked. “Okay, I think I’m missing something. What’s a TARDIS?”

“It’s my ship!” the Doctor explained. “The best ship in the universe! Only… I kind of lost it.”

Michelle stared at her, unamused. “You lost it. What, did you forget where you parked or something?”

“If only it was that easy,” said the Doctor. “I sort of damaged it when I regenerated, and I got thrown out. It disappeared as I fell, so I have no idea where it’s got to.”

“Then it is decided,” said Catarrah. “We will search for your vessel, Doctor. My own ship should act as sufficient transport in the meantime.”

“And I guess by we, you just mean you two, right?” Michelle asked.

The Doctor stopped, frowned, and took Michelle’s hand. “No, I mean all three of us. Why would we exclude you?”

Michelle sighed and looked down at her shoes. “It’s just… whenever anyone offers me a magic ticket out of this hellhole… they end up changing their minds. Makes me feel like I don’t matter.”

At that, the Time Lord and the wolf both embraced the young woman. “You matter,” whispered the Doctor. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“You have proven yourself to be a valuable member of our team, Michelle,” Catarrah agreed. “We will need you.”

Michelle smiled, cheered up by this. “Thanks, girls. Lemme just stop by home first, okay? Where’d you park, Catarrah?”

“The wood,” the wolf answered, pointing.  
Michelle nodded. “Got it. If you two don’t mind coming with me… I could really use the company.”

The Doctor smiled. “Of course we don’t mind. Let’s go, ladies.”

* * *

“And where have you been all this time, Michael?” Michelle’s mother asked, as her daughter stepped through the front door of the little house.

“With friends,” Michelle said shortly, heading back to her room. She grabbed her laptop bag and began stuffing her various electronic devices inside, with chargers, and put a plush wolf into her backpack.

“And now you think you’re going somewhere?” Her mom said, standing in the doorway. “Not until you explain exactly what you’ve been up to, mister! And don’t just tell me you’ve been with friends, do you really expect me to believe that?!”

“Why not? It’s the truth!” Michelle shot back. “I don’t have to tell you anything, I’m 25 for crying out loud!”

“And as I’ve explained before,” her mom yelled, “As long as you’re living here, you are an adolescent until I say otherwise!”

“Good thing I’m leaving then!” shouted Michelle, pushing past her mother and storming down the hall toward the front door. She threw it open and left, marching down the driveway. The Doctor was waiting for her, watching the scene unfold.

Her mother stood in the doorway, her face red. “GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT, MICHAEL McALESTER! AND GET AWAY FROM THAT WOMAN!” 

“FUCK OFF!” Michelle screamed, as untold years of eggshell-walking and holding it in finally let loose. “I DON’T NEED YOU ANYMORE, YOU FUCKING SELF-ABSORBED, INTOLERANT BITCH! I’M GOING SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU’LL NEVER BE ABLE TO FIND ME! SOMEWHERE I CAN BE MYSELF, WITHOUT YOU DRAGGING ME BACK TO THIS HELL!”

Her mother stormed off the step and grabbed Michelle bodily by the shoulders, about to drag her away from the Doctor and back into the house, but the Doctor reached out and touched her neck, temporarily paralyzing her.

The Doctor stared at Michelle’s mother, her expression stormy. “She doesn’t have to do anything you want her to do,” she said, emphasizing the pronoun. 

“I’m his mother!” she hissed. “I don’t know who you are, but get away from my son or I’ll-”

“Your daughter is safe with me,” the Doctor replied coolly. “That’s all you need to know.” She removed her finger, then walked back down the driveway toward the street, Michelle following along behind her.

Realizing she’d lost, Michelle’s mother didn’t follow.

* * *

“So, this is it, huh?” Michelle said, staring at the sleek spaceship in front of her. It looked a bit like something out of Star Trek, in her opinion, since it was about the size of a shuttlecraft, like the Galileo Seven. On the front were words in an alien script that didn’t look even remotely like something from Earth. “Looks pretty cool. Will it hold all of us?”

Catarrah nodded, “There will be more than enough room for three.” A door on the side slid open, and she led the other two inside.

As they all walked in, there came the sound of sirens, and an authoritative male voice said: “THIS IS THE POLICE! MR. McALESTER, WE KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE. PLEASE COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP. “

Michelle sighed. “Unbelievable, she called the cops on me.”

“Why would a mother summon the authorities to pursue her own offspring?” Catarrah asked, sitting in a chair in front of a control console. There was even a window, allowing them all to see the trees, now with red and blue flickering lights everywhere.

“I’ll explain later,” Michelle answered. “Can we just go before they decide to start shooting? This is America, after all.”

“But of course,” Catarrah replied, pressing a button. The little ship slowly rose into the air and zoomed away at warp, leaving the befuddled police behind.


	2. Episode 2: The Sainted Physician

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Searching for the TARDIS, the Doctor and her new friends land on a planet that has developed an interesting new belief system. But before they can investigate, they have to track down a murderer.

For some people, Saturday morning was a time for relaxation. Some slept in, others got up early and read the paper over breakfast. But this was not the case for everyone. On one particular planet, located in the Sirius system, Saturday morning was a time for worship.

All throughout the little village, the townspeople woke up and put on their Saturday best: the women wore long dresses or conservative tops with long skirts, paired with flats, as heels were expressly forbidden. Men wore button-down shirts and dress slacks with slip-on dress shoes. Then, they all walked toward a chapel, which sat upon a hill at the very center of the village.

Though the building itself was small, the interior was actually quite spacious, made primarily of wood and decorated with many candles and lamps. The pews were all cushioned, and at the center of the room (surrounded by some steel girders) was the altar table, made of white marble with two candles perched on top. Set into the walls were a dozen or so stained glass windows, each depicting the deity to be worshipped.

As the congregation filed into the church, a small group of monks (dressed in dark red robes with a burgundy and purple tippet) chanted: “Pie Tempus Dómine, dona eis requiem,” before thwacking themselves in the head with a blue wooden board.

Once the worshippers were seated, an older man with white curly hair, dressed in dark blue robes with a clerical collar entered the room from a side chamber, and stepped in front of a wooden lectern. “Good morning… may the grace and peace of our Sainted Physician be with you,” he began. His voice was deep and somber, still rich in spite of his advanced years.

“And also with you,” said the worshippers, as one.

The priest continued: “Let us begin this morning with a performance of Psalm 164.” There was a pause as the assembled throng opened their hymn books to the proper pages, then someone began to play a piano. Acting like a choir, the crowd began to sing:

> _When I find myself in times of trouble, _   
_Sacred Doctor comes to me _   
_Speaking words of wisdom, _   
_Let it be…_

* * *

[Title ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljMk8Q7N1yk) [Sequence](https://youtu.be/cBmMrbYywy0)

* * *

The Doctor, Michelle Lykos, and Catarrah were traveling in the latter’s ship, speeding through space at warp 5. Catarrah sat in the control chair, guiding the ship, while Michelle and the Doctor sat behind her, the latter making some adjustments on her sonic screwdriver. “There we go, got it!” she exclaimed, beaming.

“Got what?” Michelle asked, tucking a few stray curls behind her ear.

“The signal of my TARDIS of course!” the Doctor explained. “Remember how I said they were linked? The TARDIS runs on something called artron energy, and the sonic can detect it. By doing that, we can follow the energy signature back to the source, like you’d use a trail of breadcrumbs to mark your path on a walk!”

“So where are we going?” Michelle wondered.

“A planet called Albar,” replied Catarrah. “The local population resemble humans in most respects, and they are a peaceful race. I do not believe they shall harm us.”

“Well, that’s good news,” Michelle commented. “The last thing I want is to get shot or something my first day away from home. How long will it take us to get there?”

“Not much longer,” Catarrah answered. “Approximately another hour or so.”

Michelle nodded. “Excellent. Since we’ve got a while, and we’re not being chased by an incompetent bounty hunter, may as well get to know each other better, right?”

“Yeah! That sounds like a brilliant idea!” The Doctor grinned. “I’ll start. My name’s the Doctor, I’m from the planet Gallifrey at the end of the universe, give or take a star system. It used to be in the constellation of Kasterborous, but then a war happened and all my previous incarnations had to hide it while making it look like it was destroyed. Anyway, I’m around two thousand years old, and this is my…” she paused, “Thirteenth regeneration?”

“Are you sure it’s your thirteenth?” Michelle said, smirking a bit. “You don’t sound sure.”

“I’m really not,” answered the Doctor. “Time Lords have thirteen lives, but my number eight turned into a warrior instead of a Doctor, and then my number ten once regenerated and kept the same face. I had vanity issues at the time.” She looked a little miffed. “Skinny idiot. Anyway, how about you two?”

“I’m Michelle Lykos, I’m an American trans woman who recently graduated college,” said she. “Not that that it’s helped. I can’t find a job to save my life, my parents don’t support me worth a damn, I can’t transition or anything else, so today I said “Fuck this” and went to explore space with a couple of aliens.” She grinned. “What a weird life, huh?”

“It’s been a while since I traveled with an American,” the Doctor remarked. “At least I’m pretty sure Peri was American. Maybe she was born in England but moved at a young age.”

“I am called Catarrah,” began the wolf. “I am a Loba, and part of the Explorer caste. It is my job to explore the wider universe and to share my findings with Central Command back home. However... it is a lonely position. Until I met the two of you, I was considering returning home, and resuming my old life in the Gatherer caste.”

“We’re both glad you didn’t,” said the Doctor warmly. “I think we’re going to be great friends!”

* * *

There was nothing that Grandfather Karat Beohms enjoyed more than relaxing after a long day of work. When he was finished writing his sermons and darning his socks, he would put on some old ballads and eat jelly candies from a glass jar. His favorite ballad went like this:

> [ _I called out your name _ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cs5nTArlm4)   
[ _in a misty dream last night _ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cs5nTArlm4)   
[ _Saw that old smile that I miss _ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cs5nTArlm4)   
[ _It was a beautiful sight _ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cs5nTArlm4)

Tonight however, something was different. His jelly babies tasted wrong. There was something off about them, a sort of bitter almond-like taste rather than fruit and powdered sugar. He frowned. “These can’t have gone bad already... this is a fresh bag,” he said, putting down the half-eaten black currant one.

Things got worse from there. His head began to pound, as if someone had hit him with a rock. He stood up to go lie down in his bed. His legs shook. Karat gripped a nearby chair for balance. He was dizzy. He tried to breathe, but with every inhalation he could feel his throat contracting. 

Glancing down at his hand, still holding the chair, he saw his knuckles going white. The chair trembled in his grip. In no time at all, he looked more like a corpse than a living, breathing soul.

Karat slowly raised his hand as his heartbeat began to slow, as though a figure were emerging from a bright light to take him somewhere. He thought he could hear a distant wheezing and groaning sound, but maybe that was just his mind playing a trick on him.

As his vision began to darken, he felt afraid. “It can’t be the end...” he muttered. “The moment hasn’t been prepared for...”

Those were the last words he ever said. His eyes drifted shut, and his breathing slowed and eventually stopped altogether. The record, however, continued to play.

* * *

While Grandfather Karat was being poisoned, Catarrah and her two traveling companions were landing on a plateau overlooking the village, which lay in a valley. Night had fallen some hours ago, and the two moons of the planet slowly rose in tandem. At midnight they would appear to converge, then set on opposite sides.

The three travelers climbed out of the ship in turns, with Catarrah leading and the Doctor bringing up the rear. In the light of day, Albar resembled the wilds of Western Canada, with high mountains, rivers, and pine trees. It also shared the region’s weather, it was quite cold even for the wolf. The three travelers walked closely together, trying to keep warm as best they could, moving in silence.

“I can see a village up ahead,” the Doctor reported after some time, her teeth chattering. She was wishing she had a very long scarf again. 

“About time,” Michelle muttered. Even with her hands shoved into her pockets, and her proximity to the Doctor and Catarrah, this was more than just cold. Cold was winter licking at the nape of your neck as your boots crunched through powdered snow. This was a creeping, biting numbness. All she knew was the overwhelming weight of the winter. She could close her eyes and become one with it, allow herself to dissolve into snowflakes if she tried hard enough.

“Excellent,” said Catarrah, interrupting Michelle from her thoughts. “Perhaps we might warm ourselves.” 

And with that, they pressed on into the village. It was well lit even for the late hour, and there were many wooden buildings that served various purposes. Most of them were stores, but there were some small hotels and restaurants as well. The other streets were more residential, containing houses and apartment buildings. 

At the center of it all was the church. It was easily the largest building in town and sat on its highest point, a good-sized hill that had no official name. Next to the building was a noticeboard with various posters for official events. It looked, to Michelle, exactly like a church on Earth, but instead of a cross above the door, there was a circular symbol that depicted an ouroboros.

The Doctor’s party didn’t get to see the church, however, because the village streets were filled with panicked townspeople.

“What’s happening?! What’s going on?!” asked the Doctor, trying to make herself heard over the shouts and screams.

“It’s Grandfather Karat, miss!” cried an old woman. “He’s been murdered in his bed!”

“That’s awful news! I’m so sorry!” the Doctor replied, frowning sympathetically. “Is anyone investigating?”

“Not yet,” said the old woman. “His body’s only just been taken to the morgue, ya see! Are you a policewoman?”

“More or less,” the Doctor said. When the woman stared in shock at her clothes, she explained, “Plainclothes, helps me blend in.”

“They’re not doing a very good job,” the woman said. “Anyway, the morgue is just next to the hospital, you can’t miss it! Look for the green moon!”

“Got it, thank you!” the Doctor cried, and she broke into a run, Michelle and Catarrah nipping at her heels.

“Green moon?” Michelle asked as they ran. “I thought the red cross was the big hospital symbol!”

“That’s for humans!” said the Doctor in a rush. “Like red alert! Everyone else uses the green moon!” They got to the morgue, which was (to the Doctor’s surprise) locked with a computer keypad. She took out a slim leather wallet and pressed it to the pad, and it beeped, followed by a clunking noise as the door unlocked.

“Been a while since I was in one of these,” said the Doctor, holding the door open for Michelle and Catarrah then entering herself. It was a largely barren room with locked cabinets along one wall, where the bodies were kept. One of the new arrivals, an elderly man with curly white hair, lay on a table, complete with a toe tag.

“This must be the priest,” said Catarrah, bending down to get a closer look. “He has not been dead for very long, two hours at most.”

The Doctor ran her sonic screwdriver over his body, frowning. “Cyanide poisoning… but who would do such a thing? Why would you kill a priest?”

Michelle shrugged. “No idea. Should we investigate?”

The Doctor nodded. “You two go talk to the villagers, I’ll go find the church. Meet back at that water fountain we saw at the other end of the main street in two hours. Got it?”

“Crystal,” Michelle said, and the group split up.

* * *

“Think we’ll find very much?” Michelle asked Catarrah, as the two of them wandered through the rapidly emptying streets of the village. “Can’t say I’ve ever had to do anything like this before… makes me wish I paid closer attention to all those Law and Order episodes.”

“I do not imagine it will be fairly difficult,” Catarrah replied. “It shall be a simple matter of asking questions and receiving a reply.” Looking out of the corner of her eye, she saw a male humanoid dressed all in black, save for the white clerical collar around his neck, shepherding the frightened townsfolk into their houses as if they were sheep in a flock. 

Michelle followed her gaze. “Maybe Big Toe Guy knows something, huh?” she suggested. “Usually I don’t mock other people’s looks, but… come on, it’s not hard.” He did indeed resemble a big toe, if the toe had a brown goatee glued on.

“His outfit suggests he is an employee of the church,” Catarrah observed. “Perhaps he knew the deceased.” She and Michelle walked toward him, doing their best not to appear too rushed.

The man smiled genially as they approached. “Ah! Offworlders, I see? You picked a bad time to come visit I’m afraid, one of our pastors has just passed away after a short illness.”

“That is precisely what we have come to ask you about,” said Catarrah. “We are conducting an investigation. Were you familiar with the deceased?”

The man continued to smile even as he raised his hand. “Ah, ah, ah! I don’t take questions from women, only men.” Having said that, he turned to Michelle. “What can I do for you, sir?”

“I’m not a man,” Michelle growled, her tone suddenly as cold as the air surrounding her. “I’m a woman. Call me that again and my friend here will make you a late night snack.”

The man chuckled, ignoring this outburst entirely. “Now that is quite impossible. Your chest is flat, your voice deep, you have no curves. Therefore, you are a man.”

“SHUT UP AND ANSWER THE DAMNED QUESTION!” Michelle shouted, losing her patience entirely. She could put up with it from her parents, but from a complete stranger on an alien planet?! “DID YOU KNOW THE GUY OR DIDN’T YOU?!”

“I was indeed familiar with him, yes,” said the priest, his smile replaced with a frown. His tone was clipped. “He was my mentor when I joined the church.”

“The church of what?” Michelle asked, trying valiantly to bring her temper back down. “I don’t see any crosses.”

“Why, the Church of the Sainted Physician, of course,” the priest replied. “More commonly known as the Doctor.”

Michelle and Catarrah both exchanged a look, then turned back in the direction of the hospital. Then, returning to the priest, they said in unison: “Doctor who?”

* * *

The heavy wooden doors of the church opened slowly, making a loud creaking noise as the Doctor pushed on them. She opened them just enough to slip inside the main chapel and closed them behind her, looking around the room. The candles had been extinguished and the room was dark, lit only by moonlight coming through the stained glass windows.

The Doctor assumed that the images in the windows were the same as those in the various Christian churches on Earth: depictions of Christ at various stages of His life, or other Biblical figures. But as she looked up through one particular window, she froze. What she saw was not the face of Jesus, but her own face: her fourth, the one with the long scarf.

She grabbed her screwdriver and adjusted a few settings, then pressed the button. The tip lit up immediately, acting like a flashlight. She shone it around all the windows, and saw with utter shock that all of her faces were there, all twelve of them. No, thirteen, she mentally corrected, seeing a glimpse of her Time War incarnation, the one who resembled that wand-maker from Harry Potter. The only one missing was her current face, for obvious reasons.

“But… who would worship me?” whispered the Doctor. “I’d be a terrible god.”

She waved the sonic around and found, resting on a lectern, a truly enormous book. It was TARDIS blue, and when she opened it, the Doctor found it was a record of all her journeys through time and space, or at least the important ones. The book was divided into sections based on which face she had at a given time, with names like “The Book of William,” “The Book of Peter I,” “The Book of Thomas,” “The Book of Christopher,” and “The Book of Matthew.” Individual adventures were titled: The Sainted Physician and the Giant Robot, or The Three Physicians, among others.

Using the sonic to light a few nearby candles, the Doctor cracked open the book and began to read aloud to herself: “A foggy winter's night, in a London back street. The little road was empty and silent. A tall figure loomed up out of the fog - the helmeted, caped figure of a policeman patrolling his beat…”

* * *

“Surely you must have heard of the Doctor,” said the bald priest, in a condescending sort of way. “He traverses the whole of creation in a blue craft, assisting all in need and fighting those who would dare to try and destroy all things.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of the Doctor, alright,” Michelle said, her eyes narrowing. “What I don’t understand is why you’re calling her a man. Last I checked she wasn’t one.”

The priest chuckled. “Don’t be absurd, the Doctor is a masculine figure, if deities can be said to have genders. He has always appeared as a male, and he always will. Besides which, if the Doctor were a woman, we'd have to call her the Nurse wouldn't we?” Then he frowned again. “To suggest such is heresy, and the punishment for heresy is death.”  
Michelle heaved a sigh. “You’re making the Catholics look like Unitarians, pal.”

“Ah yes, some of your inferior Earth religions,” the priest replied. “Come along, I shall show you to our chapel… perhaps that shall convince you.” And with that he led Michelle and Catarrah toward the church.

“Oh, hello girls!” the Doctor said cheerfully, looking up as Michelle, Catarrah, and the priest arrived. “Did you find out anything?”

“Only that the religion of this world appears to be based on you,” Catarrah answered. She pointed at the bald priest. “This man claims to be a preacher.”

“Really?” The Doctor looked the priest over, and shivered for some reason. This man had a distinct aura of menace for a man of the cloth, but she couldn’t put her finger on why. “I see… good evening, ah… Father, right?”

“Grandfather,” said the priest. “I am Grandfather Taregh Orbrest, the acting head preacher of this church in light of Grandfather Karat’s sad demise.”

The Doctor offered him her hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m the Doctor!”   
  
There was a very long and painful silence. No one moved, or spoke, or barely breathed. But finally, it was broken. The priest’s face began to redden, and he wailed like a petulant child: “How dare you besmirch the name of Lord and Savior with your lies! You cannot be the Doctor!”   
  
“Oh yeah? And why’s that?” The Doctor looked at him, her hands on her hips.   
  
“Because you are a woman!” Taregh spat. “We allow them to worship with us, but they are not allowed to join the clergy, nor are they allowed to do something like this!” He clapped his hands twice. “GUARDS! Take this witch and her associates downstairs, I shall deal with them in the morning!” And before they could resist, the trio were dragged downstairs to the church basement.   
  
“I was wrong,” said Michelle, once the guards were gone. “These people aren’t Catholics, they’re evangelicals.” She sighed heavily. “What are we going to do now?”   
  
“Escape, of course!” The Doctor beamed. “But first, tell me what you learned! You must have found something!”   
  
Michelle nodded. “We learned he’s a transphobic jerkwad for starters. He kept misgendering me even after I told him to stop. As for the dead guy…” She closed her eyes, thinking. “Karat was his mentor… and Karat passed away after a short illness.”   
  
“Well, that’s rubbish,” said the Doctor at once. “The autopsy I did said he was poisoned! Aside from that he was in perfect health! Unless… the poisoning was what he meant by illness.”   
  
“But if that is the case, why would he give himself away to a complete stranger?” Catarrah asked. “That seems highly illogical.”   
  
“Maybe he was proud of what he did,” Michelle said, sounding disgusted. “He sure didn’t seem too sad when we talked to him.”   
  
“What I’d like to know,” said the Doctor, “is why he killed Karat in the first place. He’s our suspect, which means we need to find evidence that proves he committed the crime. And to do that, we need to escape! Good thing that should be pretty easy.”   
  
“Yeah? How’s that?” asked Michelle.   
  
The Doctor spread her arms wide and beamed. “Look! No restraints, no ropes, no nothing! Not even a guard, probably! All they’ve done is locked the door, and I’ve got this!” She twirled the sonic screwdriver between her fingers. “This’ll be a piece of cake!” She turned to Catarrah. “Catarrah, go upstairs and listen if anyone is still outside. If there’s anyone there we’ll wait until they’ve gone.”   
  
Catarrah nodded and padded softly up the wooden staircase, making as little noise as possible. Then she leaned against the door, her ears rotating slightly to catch every little sound. There didn’t seem to be anyone out there, as far as she could tell.   
  
“I believe we’re alone,” she eventually reported.   
  
The Doctor nodded and hurried up the stairs, sonicking the door lock as she went. It clicked, and Catarrah was able to open the door without issue. 

The main room was empty again, but the candles were still lit. Michelle hurried to a back room and found some spare monk habits hung up on hooks. She grabbed three and carried them back to the others. “We’ll need these,” she said, handing one to the Doctor and another to Catarrah, “That way Toe Man and his goons will have a harder time finding us.”

“Good thinking Michelle,” said the Doctor, leading the way out of the chapel and back into the town square, now wearing the habit. The town was eerily quiet now, it seemed as though everyone had gone to bed, rendering the disguises only partly pointless. (At least they helped retain body heat.)

“Any chance we can get some sleep?” Michelle asked as they walked. She kept her voice low to avoid waking anyone up. “I’ve been awake for entirely too long.”

Catarrah nodded in agreement. “To conduct an investigation now would be strategically inadvisable. We should wait until the morning.”

“You two do need sleep, don’t you?” the Doctor realized. “Yeah, alright. I saw an inn before, we’ll go there.” And away they went, trying to keep their footsteps as quiet as possible, their feet crunching through the snow that littered the landscape. 

Eventually they found their way to the inn. “Let me do the talking,” said Michelle, lowering her hood. “If this church is like the ones at home, they don’t let women in positions of influence. I look like a boy right now, so I’m the only one who can get us a room.”

“Are you sure you’re comfortable with that?” asked the Doctor. “We could just sneak in the back way.”

Michelle sighed. “I’m not comfortable with it, but it’s not like I have a ton of options. Besides, it’s just this once.” She gestured for the other two to raise their hoods, then stepped inside.  
  
The room was sparsely furnished, with white walls and dark wooden ceilings and floors, with simple candle-filled chandeliers hanging down. At a wooden desk was a young man with a prominent chin and dark hair done in a quiff. He turned to Michelle and said, “Can I help you?”

Michelle nodded. “Yes... we are looking for accommodation tonight. After the sudden death of Grandfather Karat we no longer feel safe in our own homes.”

The man nodded. “Of course, of course... no charge for the clergy, and certainly not under the present circumstances.. Rooms 11, 12, and 13 are free.” He produced three keys and handed them to her. “Goodnight, gentlemen.”

“Goodnight,” Michelle replied, suppressing a flinch. Once they were out of the man’s sight, she handed the other two their keys and whispered “See ya in the morning,” before slipping into room 11. Catarrah took room 12, and the Doctor entered room 13.

* * *

The morning brought with it a funeral for the dearly departed, much beloved Karat Beohms. Another one of the senior clergy (a man with thinning blonde hair who always wore a white robe trimmed with red accents and a sprig of celery) delivered the eulogy.

Situated in the very back of the chapel’s main room were the Doctor and Michelle, both of whom were waiting for the funeral mass so they could do some reconnaissance in Karat’s chambers, in the hopes of finding additional proof of their suspicions.

After some waiting, the choir broke into a funeral march, though the specific piece being performed sounded strangely familiar for the Doctor, as though she’d heard it every Saturday ever since she landed on Totters’ Lane. The pallbearers lifted the coffin and carried it out to the cemetery on the village outskirts, with the mourners following along behind them.

As the doors creaked shut, the Doctor and Michelle lowered their hoods at last. “Alright, now what?” asked Michelle.

“Now, we go find Karat’s bedroom,” the Doctor said, looking around the place. “Any idea where that could be?”

“Well, I can see the door leading to the basement from last night…” Michelle pointed, “And there’s another door just there… maybe that’s it?”

The Doctor led the way forward. The door wasn’t much to look at, just dark wood with a brass knob on one side. She unlocked it and pushed it open to reveal a hallway, lined with still more doors. These had brass numbers on them, one to twelve.

“Which one do you think is Karat’s?” Michelle wondered.

“Room 4, I’d imagine,” the Doctor replied. “Since he looked a lot like one of my old faces…” She went to room 4’s door, and after unlocking it, pushed it open to reveal a comfortably furnished bedroom with an armchair in the middle, a bed in the corner, and a writing desk along one wall, with a bookshelf and a wardrobe on another wall. Resting on a table beside the armchair was a glass bowl containing the poisoned jelly babies.

“Aha!” The Doctor grabbed a small handful (though she was careful to cover her hand so as to not make it look like she was the killer), adjusted a few settings on her sonic screwdriver, and scanned the lot. The sonic’s tip flared either green (for not poisoned) or red (for the opposite). She licked one, and winced. “Ick… this tastes awful. Definitely poisoned.”

“Then why did you just lick it?!” Michelle exclaimed. “Haven’t you just poisoned yourself?!”

“No,” replied the Doctor, “One small lick isn’t enough for a fatal dose. If Agatha Christie were here she’d tell you that.”

Michelle blinked. “Agatha Christie? What has she got to do with poisons, apart from the obvious?”

“I’ll explain later,” the Doctor said evasively. “Right now we have to find out how the poison got into the candy in the first place.” She pointed at Michelle. “If you wanted to poison someone, what would you do?”

“Get some cyanide and a syringe, and inject it into the food,” Michelle answered. “Is that what happened here?”  
“I’m almost positive,” said the Doctor. “It would have to be done by someone who had access to the priests’ food supply, so one of the servant monks or one of the priests themselves. That person would also have to know what a certain priest liked to have as a snack.”

“Which means we’ll probably have to do some interviews, right?” Michelle said. “That would be difficult, since I’m pretty sure Orbrest and his friends are looking for us.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it," said the Doctor, looking confident as ever. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Michelle facepalmed.

* * *

The Doctor and Michelle were not standing triumphantly in a courtroom, nor were they questioning anybody about anything. Instead they were holed up in a true prison cell, a simple room made of brick with a bench on one wall, a bed on another, and a barred window.

Michelle sat on the cell’s bed, looking up at the ceiling. “So. We had to do some suspect interviews. You said the five most horrible words that anyone in the freaking universe can possibly say, and then we proceeded to find out exactly how wrong things can go. Toe Man and his dudes showed up, had us arrested on a count each of breaking and entering, escaping from prison, and disorderly conduct, then threw us in here. Then he stole your sonic screwdriver, which he seemed to know what it could be used for, and said it was obviously stolen from the, and I quote, ‘real Doctor.’” And now we’re stuck.” 

The Doctor raised a finger. “In my defense-”

Michelle raised a hand and cut her off. “Nope! You had your shot and blew it. Now it’s my turn.” She looked around the room they were in. “This place is made of cement. If they give us bread and water, we could tilt the bench up so it becomes a kind of ramp, put the bread on the floor, pour the water repeatedly down the bench onto the wall to soften the mortar holding the bricks together and then squeeze the water out of the bread like a sponge, then do it all over again until eventually, the wall is weak enough that we could use the bench as a battering ram and escape that way.”

“The only problem,” interrupted the Doctor, “is that we don’t have bread or water.”

Michelle sighed. “It worked for Violet Baudelaire.”

"You'll have to get your deus ex machina from someplace else," the Doctor said, but before Michelle could reply, the cell door suddenly swung open.

Standing on the other side was Catarrah, flanked by two younger priests: a young man with wavy brown hair not too far away from Michelle's style, and a man with closely-cropped black hair. "So you're the two girls that ol' Taregh locked up," said the second man, who had a strong accent that would've pegged him as being from the north of England. "Don't worry, we're not gonna hurt you. We've come to help."

"And we're so glad!" the Doctor said, bouncing up with a wide grin on her face. "I'm-"

"We know," said the first man, who spoke in a crisp Received Pronunciation accent. He smiled. "You're the Doctor.”

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Catarrah had been spending the morning keeping an eye on their main suspect. Careful to keep herself hidden, she followed the funeral party out of the church and toward the cemetery about a mile or two away.

Each of the mourners were given an opportunity to say a few words, with Taregh going last. “With the sudden passing of our elder statesman, we find ourselves at a crossroads,” he began. “Friends, our church finds itself under siege by an evil external force. This princess of lies dresses herself in the clothes of our sacred Doctor and dares to use His name, but be not fooled. She is not our god. She is a false idol, and it is not a coincidence that dear Grandfather Karat passed away just as she arrived. Perhaps she is even responsible for his demise!”

“Grrrrandfather Taregh,” warned one of the shorter priests, “Now is not the time for conspiracy theories.”

“Quite the contrary,” interrupted Taregh. “Our most beloved priest lies dead, perhaps slain by an unknown hand. We must investigate at once!”

The group broke up, the older priests muttering quietly to each other as Taregh stormed back toward the church, where he would find Michelle and the Doctor attempting to interrogate members of staff.

Once she was sure Taregh wouldn’t catch her, Catarrah crept from her hiding place and followed two of the younger clergymen, one whom had closely-cropped dark hair and the other of whom had wavy brown hair.

“If you ask me, Taregh’s talking rubbish,” said the taller of the two, in a thick Northern accent. His name was Cherishport Sconcelet. “There’s no way that woman killed Karat.”

“No, I don’t think she did either,” agreed his wavy-haired companion, who was called Clap Gunman. “And how would he have known that Karat was murdered, anyway?”

“That is exactly what we are trying to find out,” Catarrah said, and the two men jumped in surprise, turning to face her.

“Who the hell are you?” asked Cherishport, furrowing his brow.  
“My name is Catarrah,” said she. “And as I said, my companions and I are trying to solve the mystery of Grandfather Beohms’ untimely demise. But we cannot work alone, we need assistance. Would you be willing to lend aid?”

The wavy-haired man smiled warmly. “It is part of the code of all Doctorists to provide advice and assistance,” he said. “We would be happy to help.”

Catarrah smiled too. “Excellent. Allow me to explain what we have found so far…”

* * *

“Then, as we were talking, we heard Taregh had just gotten a couple of people arrested,” said the Northern priest. The five of them were now in Clap’s room, where they would be safe from Targegh and his goons. “And here we are now.”

“We’re glad you came to rescue us,” said the Doctor, smiling. “And even more glad that you believe us.”

“Taregh has always seemed more than a little suspicious to me,” Clap commented. “He’s been trying to become head priest ever since he joined our church.”

“Says he doesn’t like the direction the church is going in, either,” Cherishport added. “You know Karat talked about adding a woman to the clergy? When Taregh got wind of that, he put his foot down and said that would happen when Hell froze over. He’s a real traditionalist, alright.”

"And you said Karat wanted to bring some diversity into the clergy, right?" Michelle said to Cherishport. "So Taregh would have a reason to off him in the hopes of avoiding that 'forced diversity.'" She made air-quotes with her fingers. "Classic right-wing bullshit right there."

The Doctor coughed. "Language, Michelle."

"Sorry," Michelle said, blushing faintly. "Anyway, so now we have a motive. Taregh is trying to frame everything on the Doctor, because he doesn't believe she is who she says she is, because he's a misogynist blowhard." She leaned back in the chair she was sitting in. "Now what?"

"We don't know for sure that it was him," pointed out the Doctor, "But there's no one else who'd have the ability to commit the crime and avoid getting caught. The normal members of staff would be too concerned about their jobs, and the other priests would have no reason to kill someone they saw as a friend in the first place."

“Our next move should be to keep an eye on him,” said Clap. “Cherishport and I will handle that, and inform you three should he do anything suspicious.”

“That sounds good to me,” said the Doctor.

“So now that we have that squared away,” said Michelle, “What the… heck, is with this church?”

“I’m not sure I understand your meaning,” Clap replied, turning to face Michelle.

“What she means is, why does it seem as though you’ve based an entire religion on me?” asked the Doctor. “Those are all my faces in those windows.”

“All of them?” Michelle said in surprise. “They were you?”

The Doctor nodded. “All twelve of them. Well, thirteen. There was a face I wore for a while that I didn’t used to talk about, and my number 10 once regenerated and kept the same face.” She blushed. “I had vanity issues at the time.”

“So of those guys on the wall, which one of them was that?” Michelle asked. “The dude who looked liked Crowley off of Good Omens?”

The Doctor nodded eagerly like an excited puppy. “Yeah! That’s him! I’m number 13! Kind of. 14 if you count the face I had during the bad old days, and 15 if you include my human duplicate.”

“That’s not confusing at all,” Michelle said dryly. “Anyway, yeah. How does a planet out in the interstellar equivalent of freaking Kansas find out about you, and then create an entire belief system based on you? Are you that big a deal?”

"Something like that," the Doctor said, avoiding Michelle's gaze. She turned at last to the two priests. "What can you tell us?”

“It all began many cycles distant,” Clap said. “When the Ghost Monument appeared for the first time.”

“The Ghost Monument?” Catarrah echoed. “What is this Ghost Monument?”

“It is a tall blue box,” Clap continued. “It appears once a year, always in the deepest part of the autumn, on the twenty third day of the eleventh moon. It seems to be able to think for itself, for it implanted the Doctor’s adventures in the heads of our first prophets, Yendys and Trevyi. They wrote down what they saw, and as the decades passed, a chosen few recounted further adventures.”

“And what is today’s date?” Catarrah asked.

“Moon Eleven, Day Twenty One,” replied Cherishport promptly.

“Then we have two days to sort out Taregh,” said the Doctor at once. “I’ll bet he tries something on the day the Ghost Monument comes back. And when he does, we’ll have to catch him in the act.”  
“Another day, another murderer,” muttered Catarrah. “I hope this does not become a pattern.”

* * *

The following day was a sermon day. Taregh himself took Karat’s place at the altar. The sunlight streamed in through the windows and onto his head, making it shine. There was no music this morning, out of respect for the much-loved, and much-missed, Grandfather Karat.

When the parishioners settled into their pews, Taregh began to speak. “Two days ago, as you all know, our beloved Grandfather Karat passed away quite suddenly. What you may not know is that he did not die of natural causes. He was, in fact, poisoned.”

Gasps arose from the crowd, especially the younger ones whose parents did not tell them the awful truth.

Taregh continued. “At this point you may be wondering, who would do such an awful thing? Who would kill one of the kindest men ever to walk this world, or any other?” His voice began to rise as he got more and more passionate, as if he were a Baptist preacher from America. “I tell you, there is an answer to your questions!” 

He grabbed a slim remote control from the lectern and pressed a button. A screen lowered down to face the audience, and a picture appeared: a young woman in her 30s, with a swish of blonde hair. She was unsmiling, and despite the brightly colored clothing she wore, her eyes were cold. “This, my friends, is your murderer,” Taregh said. “This woman did not just kill Karat, she even took our Lord’s name in vain, and claims to be the Doctor himself!”

“But she’s a woman!” shouted someone. “How can she be the Doctor?!”

“That’s just the point, dear sir!” Taregh replied. “She isn’t! She is a liar, and means to stir up chaos and confusion among us! She may even succeed, unless we can stop her!”

“How are we going to do that?” asked someone else.

“We already know that she is a murderer,” said Taregh. “And you all know the punishment for a capital crime in this community… A BURNING AT THE STAKE!”

“Isn’t that cruel?!” asked a third person.

“It is no less a fate than she deserves,” Taregh said coldly. “The Great Beast of Krop-Tor shall deal with her, once she has passed from this mortal realm. She burns six days hence!”

Another gasp from the crowd rose up, as a fourth person exclaimed, “But that is the Day of the Doctor! You truly mean to hang her then?!”  
“I do,” Taregh replied. “She has committed a grave sin. If the Ghost Monument shall bear witness to her death, then that is how it should be. Go in peace, brothers and sisters, and be wary of that which seeks to divide us.”

The crowd began to file quietly out of the chapel, and Taregh stepped through the door leading to the priests’ quarters, returning to his room. Everything was going exactly as he’d planned…

* * *

“So, let me get this straight,” said Michelle, looking between the Doctor, Cherishport, and Clap. She, them, and Catarrah were holed up in their hotel room, hearing the latest news. “Toe-Man wants to kill the Doctor because she committed heresy?” She rolled her eyes, “He’d fit in at Liberty University, that’s for sure.”

“And we have until then to connect him to Karat’s death,” Clap said. “We have no physical evidence that proves it was him.”

“No, but I know how we can prove he’d be the only reasonable suspect,” said the Doctor, starting to pace up and down the room. “He’s probably the egotistical sort, and as a result, he’s probably in a very good mood at the moment. That might mean he’s feeling a little more daring, and now that he has a scapegoat, he can commit as many murders as he likes so long as he pins them on me.”

“Which we aren’t going to let him do,” thundered Cherishport.

“Quite right,” said the Doctor, nodding. “Instead we’re going to set a trap and make him think he’s about to do it.”

“How do you mean?” Michelle asked.

“I’ll disguise myself as a priest,” the Doctor said. “Since you all look like my old faces, that won’t be hard at all, and put myself in a position where he’d be able to attack me. But before he can actually do anything, that’s when you three,” she pointed at Catarrah, Cherishport, and Clap, “will leap out and arrest him. And you, Michelle, will be recording everything on your phone!”

She nodded. “Got it. I like this plan. When do we put it into action?”

The Doctor beamed at her. “No time like the present!” And with that, the five of them got to work.

* * *

In his own room, Taregh considered the cork board in front of him. Pinned to it were several photographs of the various priests, thirteen in all. 5 of the pictures had black Xs drawn on them, indicating that those shown were dead. (Though only one was by his own hand, that of Karat. The other four had all died due to illness or old age.) 

Taregh knew one more would have to die to get his point across, the one who’d been second only to Karat in his support for adding a female priest to the staff. This man had bushy eyebrows, attack eyebrows almost, with piercing blue eyes and a face that seemed to be frowning permanently. Taregh nodded once and withdrew a knife from a desk drawer. This one would be playing some kind of musical instrument usually, so he’d be easy to find.

Decision made, Taregh rose and slipped quietly out of his room, walking silently down the hall.

* * *

The church had a common room in which the priests could relax and allow themselves some time away from work. It was a simply decorated but comfortable room, with grey walls decorated with off-white roundels and an assortment of comfortable chairs, one of which had a panda on it. Currently the room was dark, save for the light of a fire, which crackled merrily in its hearth.

A priest was sitting in one of these chairs, dressed in a borrowed frock with the hood up, and playing an acoustic guitar on a strap around their shoulder. The guitar was a Fender Starcaster, with nylon strings in place of normal metal ones. As their fingers strummed the chords, she quietly sang:

> [ _Look at the stars_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FydouNo1R7M)   
[ _Look how they shine for you_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FydouNo1R7M)   
[ _And everything you do_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FydouNo1R7M)   
[ _Yeah, they were all yellow_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FydouNo1R7M)
> 
> [ _I came along_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FydouNo1R7M)   
[ _I wrote a song for you_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FydouNo1R7M)   
[ _And all the things you do_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FydouNo1R7M)   
[ _And it was called "Yellow"_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FydouNo1R7M)
> 
> [ _So then I took my turn_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FydouNo1R7M)   
[ _Oh what a thing to have done_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FydouNo1R7M)   
[ _And it was all yellow_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FydouNo1R7M)

The door to the common area creaked open, and Taregh crept into the room, holding a knife. At the noise of the door, the priest stopped their song and said in a gruff Scottish accent: “Evening, Taregh.”

“Good evening,” said Taregh conversationally. “A nice night for music, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” replied the priest, not moving an inch. “Do you play?”

“I do,” Taregh lied. “If I might take that off your hands…” He approached them from behind, arm raised as take the guitar, ready to strike. He pulled the priest’s hood down with his free hand and brought down the other arm, ready to stab the priest in the neck with his knife. Only, instead of the poof of grayish curls he’d expected, there was only straight blonde hair.

But before Taregh stab anyone, the Doctor struck a wrong note on the guitar, and Catarrah shot her bow at the same time, an arrow piercing Taregh’s back. He crumpled and fell to the floor, out cold. 

“Good work, team!” the Doctor said, standing and taking off the guitar, putting it back where she’d found it. “Let’s get him taken care of, shall we?” All five of them lifted Taregh up and began to carry him out of the room and, fittingly, the church basement.

Clap called the police, and within moments, a carriage was parked outside the main doors of the church. Two policewomen got out and went inside. “We received a call about an attempted homicide,” said one, a woman with dark hair and a Yorkshire accent as thick as the Doctor’s.

Michelle produced her phone and began to play the recorded footage for the officer, which clearly showed Taregh interrupting the Doctor and attempting to stab her. 

“And where is the suspect now?” the officer asked.

“Downstairs,” replied Clap. “We had to subdue him so he couldn’t attack anyone else, he should be waking up any moment now.” A roar of rage sounded from below their feet. “That would be him.”

* * *

On the twenty third day of the eleventh moon, there was no burning at the stake. Taregh, who’d planned to lead the ceremony, was instead in a jail cell, arrested on one count of murder and one count of attempted murder. The video on Michelle’s phone, plus the bag of jelly babies and the vial of poison in his room, would be enough proof to convict him in the trial, but that wasn’t until tomorrow.

Today was a holiday, the holiday, in fact. The entire town was now gathered not at the chapel, but in Totters’ Yard, a recreation of the famous junkyard that the Doctor was said to have visited on several occasions. In front of them was a closed blue gate with the words “I.M. FOREMAN, SCRAP MERCHANT” painted on in white. All the surviving priests were there, of course, and while they’d said there would be special guests, those had yet to arrive. (Unless one counted the curly-haired person and the wolf-like creature standing among them.) Though it was still dark with the first light of dawn, they all knew the sun would be rising soon.

Then the gates creaked open, and the crowd could see a slim figure: a blonde-haired woman in a light-colored coat, with a dark shirt decorated with rainbow stripes, yellow braces, blue trousers, and brown boots. The woman smiled. “Good morning! As you know, today is the Day of the Doctor, where the good people of this planet honor their chosen deity by visiting this junkyard, and waiting for the Ghost Monument to appear.” A pause. Then, with the air of a popular, much-loved schoolteacher conducting a lesson, she asked: “Has the Doctor ever appeared before you?”

“Never, ma’am!” said someone in the crowd. “None of us have ever seen him before! We know he only visits in times of trouble, but such a time has never come to this village!”

“Until now,” the woman continued. “Is the sudden and suspicious death of a beloved pillar of the community not a time for visiting deities?”

“Why would the Doctor choose to burden himself with a village like this?” asked someone else. “We aren’t important enough for that.”

The woman chuckled. “I wouldn’t be so sure,” she said, and a great wind suddenly began to blow. Coats, scarves, and fallen leaves started to swirl about in the breeze. The sun rose, and a loud wheezing and groaning sound filled the air as a shape began to materialize, ever so slowly. Usually, the shape would only get halfway through the process, allowing the people a few glimpses of the signage, but not today. Today, the tall blue box materialized completely, hiding the woman from view. The noise ended with a “THUNK” that echoed for miles around.

There was a long silence. Then, the doors on the front of the box creaked open, and the woman stepped out, closing the doors behind her and leaning against them. Then she smiled, and said: “Hello. I’m the Doctor.”

“A woman can be the Doctor?” asked a little girl, looking awestruck.

The Doctor bent down and looked into the girl’s eyes, taking her hand. “The Doctor can be anyone,” she said gently. “Anyone at all.” 

Then she stood back up, speaking louder. “See, in going to all this trouble to create an entire religion around me, there’s something you’ve forgotten: I might be a Time Lord, but that’s just my species. I’m no god, or a king, or anyone’s lord. I’m just a traveler with a box and a fancy screwdriver, passing through, helping out, and learning.” 

She was pacing again, staring thoughtfully into the distance. “It’s okay that you forgot. Goodness knows I did once, a very long time ago. I let myself become a god. A trickster or a goblin, a nameless, terrible thing that would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world.” She turned back to the crowd. “But I don’t do that anymore. And you shouldn’t let yourselves do that either.”

She looked again toward the part of town where the jail was. “Taregh… he claimed to work in my name, but the truth is? He was twisting me to suit his own ends.” She sighed. “Karat Beohms was a kind and honorable man, and he deserves so much better than Taregh Orbrest. So, to really honor him, I have some… well, don’t call them commandments, since like I said, I’m not god. Just… promise me. Promise me you’ll never be cruel, or cowardly. That you’ll never give up, and never give in. That you’ll always do the right thing, no matter how hard it might be. I may have a time machine, but I can’t be everywhere at once. You all have to be Doctors too.” She smiled one last time. “Promise?”

“PROMISE!” chorused the villagers, their faiths renewed like never before.

The Doctor grinned. “Brilliant. Have a wonderful Day of the Doctor, all of you. Me and my friends, well… you know us. Places to go, things to do.”

Clap smiled. “Indeed. Safe travels, Doctor. And thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” the Doctor said, giving him a quick hug, before calling out to Michelle and Catarrah, “Ready to go, ladies?”

“You bet!” said Michelle, and the crowd parted to let them through. As they joined the Doctor at the TARDIS doors, Michelle paused. “Okay, two questions. One: what about Cat’s ship?”

“Don’t worry,” the Doctor said, beaming. “I’ll just materialize around it and keep it in the hangar, just in case. What was your other question?”

“How are we all gonna get inside this thing?” Michelle continued. “It doesn’t look like it can handle all of us.”

The Doctor gave her a knowing smile, and snapped her fingers. The doors clicked, and opened just a fraction. “Step inside, and you’ll see.”

Michelle stepped over the threshold and entered the TARDIS. Another pause, and then, as clear as day: “WHAT. THE. FUCK.”


	3. Interlude: Meanwhile in the TARDIS - Inside the Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor, Michelle, and Catarrah move into the TARDIS, and Michelle reveals some details about her past.

Michelle Lykos had seen a lot of things in her life, but she’d never seen anything like the sight that greeted her as she stepped through the police box doors. She was expecting a small room with a desk and a notebook or something, but instead… well, it wasn’t that.

There was, for starters, a main foyer of sorts composed of the police box walls, except for the back. That led out into a space that looked, to her, like someone had dropped a coffee shop into a Hogwarts common room. There were hardwood floors, with walls on the first level composed of exposed brick, and along the walls were plenty of comfortable chairs, (one of which had a stuffed panda on it) and even a sofa! There were area rugs, and four staircases leading up to the second level, which went all the way around the room and had doorways leading to other parts of the ship. The lower level also had a bookshelf and several decorative plants, none of which were from Earth. There was a brass support structure up on the ceiling, with little chandeliers to provide lighting.

But at the center of it all was the control console. Accessed by a transparent glass walkway, the wooden console looked a bit like something out of Jules Verne crossed with sixties Star Trek. It had six sides, with a variety of buttons, knobs, levers, and a couple of different keyboards (one of which appeared to have been stolen from a 1980s Mac computer). In the middle of the console was a glass tube, which contained a holographic projection of a woman in a beautiful ball gown.

The woman was humming tunelessly to herself, but when she saw Michelle, she gasped. “You’re not my thief,” she said, staring at her. “Who are you?”

“Michelle Lykos,” said she, still taking everything in. “Who are you?”

The woman grinned. “I’m… Sexy.”

Michelle raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Ah, I see you’re making friends with the ship!” chirped the Doctor, coming in from behind Michelle, with Catarrah bringing up the rear. “What do you think?”

Michelle looked around at the entire room, then back at the police box bits. “It’s bigger on the inside… how?”

“Engineering!” said the Doctor, striding over to the console. “Love the new look, old girl.”

“Thank you,” said Sexy, nodding in agreement. “I hoped you’d like it.”

The Doctor pressed a few buttons and flipped a few switches, then pulled a lever. The great wheezing and groaning sound began again, and the hologram disappeared to reveal a tube, which moved up and down in time with the engine noise. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it was over.

Catarrah blinked. “What just happened?”

“Just a quick hop over to that clearing where we left your ship,” said the Doctor cheerfully. “It’s in the hangar bay now! You two, please, make yourselves at home!”

“Gladly,” said Michelle, sinking into one of the armchairs. “Oh yeah, this feels good. Hey Doctor, just how big is this place?”

“Infinitely big,” the Doctor replied, pulling another lever. The blue box finally materialized off the surface of the planet, drifting aimlessly through the time vortex. “I’ve had the old girl for a long time, and even I haven’t seen everything she has to offer!”

“How about the room situation?” Michelle asked. “Do we get our own rooms?”

The Doctor grinned. “Of course! Unless you’d like to share? I remember that flirting you were doing on Earth.”

Both Michelle and Catarrah blushed. “I… believe separate accommodations will be acceptable for the moment, Doctor,” Catarrah eventually said.

“Not a problem,” said the Doctor, pressing a few buttons. A dinging noise sounded from somewhere. “Right! They should be up the stairs and down the hall, they’ll have your names on the doors!”

“Thanks!” Michelle called out, already heading up the stairs with a grin on her face.

* * *

Michelle pushed open the door to her room and looked around a bit. The walls were a light grey color, decorated with off-white roundels, with ionic columns in each corner. There were transparent shelving units that looked as though they might’ve come from Space IKEA, a comfortable bed with a queen-size mattress and TARDIS blue bedding, plus a large desk, with (to her shock) American-style wall outlets beside it.

Looking pleased, Michelle unzipped her backpack and took out everything that she’d brought with her from Earth: a white power strip that really did come from IKEA, a wireless charger for her phone, backup charging cables, her laptop and power adapter, a small triangular bluetooth speaker, and a plush wolf with grey and cream-colored fur. Soon, everything was plugged in and ready, and she had music playing as she relaxed.

* * *

After a few hours had gone by, the Doctor stopped in to say hello, and looked around in surprise at Michelle’s relatively few belongings. “You only have that much stuff? I would’ve thought a girl your age would have more than that.”

“I do, but it’s all back at my parents’ place,” Michelle answered. “Wifi network and password?”

The Doctor thought for a moment. “Bad Wolf, rycbar123,” she eventually said.

“Thanks.” Michelle’s fingers flew across the keyboard as she typed in the information, “Anyway, I guess we can go back and get the rest of my stuff, but it doesn’t have to be now… I have all the important stuff here.”

“Sounds like you don’t want to go back at all,” the Doctor commented. “Can’t say I blame you though, having seen your mum.”

Michelle snorted. “That woman is many things, a mom isn’t one of them.” She spun in the office chair she was sitting in (black leather with armrests) so she could face the Doctor. “Sure, she gave birth to me and fed me and clothed me and cared for me when I was sick, but that’s just parenting. That’s a job. Being a mom is different.”

The Doctor winced. “Did I touch a nerve?”

Michelle shrugged. “It was gonna come out eventually, may as well get on with it.” She heaved a sigh and got up, going to sit on the bed. 

The Doctor joined her, and said: “Where would you like to begin?”

Michelle sighed again and looked up at the ceiling. “Where to start, more like. I’ll go with my childhood.” She paused for a few moments, considering her words. “For starters… I’m not an only child, I have a brother who’s five years younger than me. When my mom was pregnant with him, she’d be sleeping in her room and I’d come in to ask if I could change the channel on the TV. She’d say yes, and then she’d tell me not to wake her up unless the apartment building was on fire or if I was bleeding.”

The Doctor frowned. “That was mean. You were just a kid, she had no right to talk to you like that, pregnant or not.”

“That’s not even the worst thing she’s done,” Michelle said. “Whenever I got in trouble at school or received a bad grade on my report card, she’d yell and scream and carry on for hours, really tearing into me over something as simple as a note written in my planner for that day. She made me feel like absolute scum. Sometimes she’d threaten to burn or sell everything that was precious to me, leaving only the bare essentials. She never went through with it, but I had no doubt in mind that she could. Keep in mind, I was just a kid. And that’s how it was for a huge part of my childhood. I grew up living in fear of her.”

“Sounds like classic emotional abuse to me,” said the Doctor, her frown deepening. “You must’ve been terrified.”

“I was,” Michelle answered. “Hell, I still am. 25 years old and the thought of my mom being mad for any reason at all is enough to freak me out but good.”

“What an awful way to grow up,” the Doctor said, squeezing Michelle’s hand. “Was she always that bad?”

Michelle shook her head. “Not at all. Most of the time she was caring and kind and all that stuff, it just made the times when she wasn’t all the scarier to live through. It was common enough that even now, when she’s just suggesting tips to improve behavior, I still feel like she’s lecturing and guilt-tripping me, whether she means to or not.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened. “She still treats you like this?! But you’re a grown adult!”

Michelle chuckled humorlessly. “Not in her house, I’m not. As far as she’s concerned, I’m a teenager until she says otherwise. And if I do anything without her permission or blessing, she flips out. Remember how angry she got when we were leaving town?”

The Doctor nodded, “Vividly. I understand why you’d be scared of her.” Her eyes narrowed. “I also remember she called you her son.”

“That’s how she sees me,” Michelle replied. “Always has been, always will be. When I told her I was trans, she ordered me to come home from college, and when I got there, she sat me down and screamed at me, telling me my feelings weren’t real, that I was hiding behind a mask or just trying to fit in with my friends, and that said friends were trying to drive a wedge between me and her. After a while she got it into her head that I was genderfluid, but you’d never know it from how she acts every day, always misgendering and deadnaming me.”

She looked down at the floor, her voice low and soft. “The night I came out was the night I realized two things: everything they ever told me about accepting me for who I was was a load of horseshit, and the only way to survive around there would be if I acted as though I’d never told them anything. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t.”

At these words, the Doctor wrapped Michelle up in a tight hug. “I am so, so sorry...” she whispered. “People like that don’t deserve to be called parents. We don’t have to go back there if you don’t want to.”

“I know we’ll be back eventually,” Michelle said, returning the hug. “No matter how hard I try, I can’t escape that place. Best to get it over with sooner rather than later.”

“I do know one thing,” said the Doctor, her voice laden with steely determination. “I’m not letting you go in alone, you’ll have me and Catarrah there the whole time.”

Michelle blinked. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

“Of course,” said the Doctor, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Why wouldn’t we?”

Michelle sounded bitter now. “Because usually whenever people say they’ll stick by me, they end up leaving me in the dust instead. But that’s another story.” She yawned. “Anyway... it’s been a hell of a day, and I’m bushed, so I’m probably gonna get some sleep.”

The Doctor nodded and got up, heading toward the door. “I’ll be in the console room if you need anything,” she said, snapping her fingers. The lights in the roundels dimmed significantly, and she smiled. “Goodnight, Michelle.”

“G’night, Doc,” Michelle replied, tucking herself into bed. The Doctor turned and walked forlornly back toward the console room, her hearts breaking for the young woman just behind her.


	4. Episode 3: The Language of the Unheard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Landing in New York in the summer of 1969, the Doctor and her companions intend to go to Woodstock, but they wind up at a certain inn on Christopher Street, and meet some old faces from the Doctor's past.

The Doctor was whirling around the console room, pushing buttons and flipping switches like a little girl on Christmas Day. “1969, what a year! The Beatles record their last album, Woodstock happens in August, the moon landings… I was involved with those, you know,” she told Michelle.

The curly haired woman looked up, surprised. “No shit. Really?”

The Doctor nodded, beaming bright. “Yep! Long story, something involving aliens that looked like the ones from Roswell, my wife, and a former FBI agent all on a mission from President Nixon. Someday I’ll tell you the story!”

“Are we going there now?” Catarrah asked.

The Doctor shook her head. “Nah, there’s way too many of me running around as it is. We’re going to Woodstock!” She pulled a lever and the TARDIS roared into life. “Are you two ready for the greatest show of your lives?”

“Gonna have to try hard to beat Paul McCartney at Busch Stadium,” Michelle said, grinning. “How about you, wolfie?”

“I suppose I am ready,” said Catarrah, shrugging. “Will my presence not cause an uproar among the humans?”

The Doctor blinked. “Uh… you know, that’s a good question… it’s been a few centuries since I traveled with someone who didn’t look human… gimme a sec, I have an idea.” She pulled out her sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the wolf, pressing the button.

Catarrah gave a yip of surprise as she seemed to shimmer into a new form, “What have you done to me?!” she cried. “I am naked!” While her fur was now gone, she currently had olive skin with long black hair, and the same piercing gold eyes she had as a wolf. The blue jumpsuit she wore remained the same.

“Don’t get your tail in a twist,” said the Doctor, smiling. “You’re still you, I just put a shimmer over you. It’s an all-in-one disguise kit for aliens that don’t look human.”

“I see.” Catarrah nodded. “So long as it is temporary…” She shouldered her bow and headed toward the police box doors, the other two following along in her wake.

When they stepped out, something wasn’t quite right. For a start it looked a little too city-like to be a farm in southern New York. For another, it was pretty obvious they’d landed in a park.

Michelle leaned against the TARDIS doorframe, taking it all in. “Uh, Doc? You sure this is the right place?”

“Hundred percent!” said the Doctor confidently, looking around at the scenery. “Okay, eighty percent. Sixty. We’re in the right year and state, aren’t we?”

Michelle nodded. “Yeah, but look at my phone.” She held it up, and the Doctor could see the date, just below the current time: June 26, 1969. Then she pointed to a nearby street sign, it said CHRISTOPHER STREET. Michelle met the Doctor’s eyes and spoke plainly: “This ain’t Woodstock. This is Stonewall.”

* * *

[Title Sequence](https://youtu.be/cBmMrbYywy0)

* * *

Amy had given up trying to figure out how many years of marriage she and Rory had spent together. Spending the majority of your adult years living in a time before you were even born tended to make things like that rather complicated. So, she and Rory had simply agreed to stop counting.

Living in the past meant she’d gotten a front row seat to some huge historical events, of course. She lived through World War 2 (and thought, one day, of Edwin Bracewell and that time Winston Churchill fought the Nazis with Daleks and space Spitfires), witnessed the news of the Kennedy assassination, saw The Beatles in concert at Shea Stadium, and through it all she kept thinking of the Doctor.

She couldn’t not think of the Doctor, of course. After all, he was why she was here in the first place. While Amy had grown used to her life in a New York brownstone, sometimes she yearned for Leadworth and mobile phones and her old life, when she could just use Google for work instead of having to scour card catalogs at the library. But while any hope of ever going back to 2010 had faded on V-E Day, she at least kept waiting for a glimpse of that big blue box, the one that had defined her entire life. If nothing else, she wanted to talk with him again, and wondered what he’d been up to. (Did he still think bowties were cool?)

Good things come when you least expect them, of course, which was why the Doctor was the furthest thing from her mind that night. Amy had been working late finishing a column for the Record, (next day’s headline: “NATIONWIDE MANHUNT FOR OVAL OFFICE INTERLOPERS CONTINUES”) when her boss came by her desk and said, “Happy anniversary, Williams.”

Amy looked up, stunned. “Happy what?”

“Happy anniversary,” repeated her boss, smiling. “Sheesh girl, lay off the espresso, huh? Get yourself home to the mister already! Your column can wait until tomorrow.”

“And that’s okay?” Amy was already reaching for her jacket.

Her boss laughed. “Yeah. See you tomorrow, Williams.” He left, and seconds later Amy followed along after him, starting at brisk jog before accelerating to a full-blown sprint back to her apartment. She wondered if Rory had remembered, realized he probably had, and was definitely waiting with a candlelit dinner for two no matter what time she got in.

As she passed the park that served as the halfway mark for her journey home, she didn’t even realize there was a blonde haired woman in front of her until she was falling to the ground, as Amy had run into her.

Without even stopping to think, Amy reached down and helped her up. “Sorry, didn’t see you,” she said, her Scots brogue as strong as ever. “You alright?”

“Yeah!” said the woman enthusiastically. “How about you?” She gave Amy a huge grin, one she found strangely familiar.

“Fine,” said Amy, turning back toward the street in front of her. “Just on my way home.” But then she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Something _blue_.

Amy froze and turned to look. There it was, the thing she’d been waiting to see for the last thirty years. It looked a bit different from what she remembered (what happened to the ambulance badge?), but she knew what it was.

“Oh… my… God…” Amy breathed, hardly daring to believe it but she knew it was true.

The blonde woman grinned up at her and said, “Hello again, Pond.”

* * *

Rory breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped through the front door of the apartment, changing gratefully out of her scrubs and into clothes a little more appropriate for a night in with one’s wife on their latest wedding anniversary. She couldn’t entirely relax, since it was her night to cook dinner and make the dessert, but there was something about cooking that managed to calm her in the way that a 9-to-5 as an RN didn’t.

After washing her hands and putting on an apron, Rory started work making shrimp ravioli. While some recipes she’d found called for frozen ravioli, Rory preferred to make it herself, especially for an occasion like this. So, the first thing she did was mix flour, salt, eggs, (4, one at a time, whisked with a fork) and olive oil to make the dough. Once that was done, she rolled it into a ball and wrapped it in plastic wrap, and let it sit for 30 minutes.

During that half hour, Rory mixed some ricotta with Parmesan to create a cheese filling, and then cut the ravioli using a cookie cutter. Once that was done, she boiled the completed noodles, pan fried the shrimp, (bought from a local fishmonger) and added Alfredo sauce. Also on the menu: homemade bread rolls and, for dessert, [fish fingers and custard](https://altonbrown.com/a-meal-fit-for-a-doctor/), based on a recipe an American chef had prepared.

It was when she set the custard to cool that Amy arrived, smiling as wide as a kid at Christmas. “Husband! You’ll never guess who just turned up out of the blue!”

“Oh yeah? Who?” asked Rory, peeking out into the living room.

Amy beamed and gestured at a woman with blonde hair, a light blue coat, blue trousers, and a dark shirt with rainbow stripes running along the front. “Our daughter-in-law!”

Rory blinked. “We have a daughter-in-law?”

The blonde woman coughed. “The last time you saw me, Pond, I was really into bowties.”

Rory stared, suddenly envisioning a man in tweed with a floppy quiff standing where the blonde woman was now. “You’re… you’re a woman now?

The Doctor nodded, “Yup! Had a big old upgrade recently, and here I am!” She hugged Amy and Rory tight. “Oh, it’s so good to see you again, I missed you so much! And you’ve barely changed since the old days, must be all that Artron energy fizzing around!”

Rory hugged the Doctor back, glancing to her wife. “Yeaaaah, that’s definitely him. Or, uh, her. Sorry.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” said the Doctor, shrugging it off. “I do it to myself all the time, don’t I, Michelle?”

“You, and virtually every other trans woman on Earth,” said the curly-haired woman with glasses. She wore ladies’ jeans and a navy blue t-shirt with a picture of a dancing comic strip beagle on it, and padding to give herself curves. “So you’re the Doc’s in-laws, huh? Nice to meet ya. I’m Michelle, and the archer over there is Catarrah.”

“Nice to meet you too,” said Rory, shaking everyone’s hands. “You’re just in time for dinner, actually.”

“I thought something smelled good,” said Amy, kissing Rory on the cheek. “Happy anniversary, you wonderful Roman you.”

Rory blushed. “Happy anniversary, Amy.” She led four other women over to the dining room table and began to serve the meal; luckily there was enough for five.

As they all started to eat, Michelle got the conversation rolling: “Anniversary, huh? Congratulations! How’d you two meet?”

“Thanks,” Amy said. “And we grew up together in this little village called Leadworth. See, I met the Doctor once when I was seven years old, and then…”

“Amy made me dress up as her,” Rory added. “In primary school we’d always play time machine together at break times.”

“That sounds adorable!” Michelle grinned at the Doctor. “Get around a bit, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” said the Doctor, shrugging. “It really is great to see you two again, I hope you’re settling in nicely.”

Amy nodded. “Yeah. I write columns for the _Record_ and Rory’s a nurse at one of the local hospitals.”

“Oh good!” The Doctor clapped, “So glad to hear it!”

“What brought you into town, Doctor?” Rory asked. “TARDIS playing up again?”

“Yeeaaaaaah,” said the Doctor, blushing slightly. “We were aiming for Woodstock.”

“You’re not too far off,” said Amy. “It’ll happen in another month or so.”

Michelle gulped, and paled slightly. “I’m not sure I wanna stick around to see what life is like for a trans woman in Sixties America. I’m not even on hormones yet.”

Amy blinked at this. “You’re trans?”

Michelle nodded. “Yeah. I’m trans, in Manhattan, in June 1969. Anyone wanna guess why that’s important?”

Her words with met with blank stares. Then, slowly, Rory raised her hand and said, “Okay… why?”

Michelle sighed. “Okay… a few blocks from here is this tavern called the Stonewall Inn. It’s a gay bar. I don’t know if you two know this, but at this particular moment, Greenwich Village is like, I guess, New York’s version of the Grove back home: queer as fuck. And in a couple days from now, someone’s going to call the cops on Stonewall, and there’ll be a raid. Hundreds of people will get caught up in the crossfire, people like Stormé DeLarverie, Marsha P. Johnson, and Sylvia Rivera. Arrests will be made. Someone will start a fire, and there’ll be a chorus line.”

“A chorus line,” Rory echoed.

Michelle nodded. “We love our musical theater, ya know.”

* * *

All too soon, dinner was over. The fish custard had gone over very well; the Doctor was pleased to find she still had a taste for the stuff after two regenerations, Michelle enjoyed the contrast between the fish and custard, and Catarrah praised Rory’s cooking skills.

Rory had blushed at that and said in reply, “Amy taught me everything I know, she’s been cooking since she was about seven.”

“First time I let you in the kitchen alone, you nearly blew up the microwave,” Amy had added, as she and Rory busied themselves with washing up before joining the Doctor and her companions in the living room to relax.

The five of them had now split up into little groups: The Doctor and Amy were in one corner, and Michelle, Catarrah, and Rory were in a second corner, chatting quietly.

“How’d you land in that park, anyway?” Amy asked the Doctor. “I thought you said there were time distortions all over Manhattan.”

“Only in 1938,” the Doctor admitted. “And even those cleared up after you jumped off the roof. But I still couldn’t come and get you because your date of death is fixed. If you left with me now, it’d create a paradox that would level the city.”

“Not that we’d _want_ to go,” Amy said, a little more bitingly than she’d intended. “We have a life here now, Doctor. I’m 62, I can’t just go running off on some adventure like we used to do.” She remembered tomorrow’s news headline. “Are still doing.” She smiled a little. “God, it’s so weird living here… you remember all that stuff with Canton, don’t you?”

The Doctor nodded. “Vividly. Let’s see… if it’s June, that should put us somewhere between that trip to the warehouse and fighting the Silents.” Her eyes narrowed. “You haven’t seen any, have you?”

Amy shook her head, her arm was entirely devoid of black sharpie tallies. “It’s like they’re avoiding us now.”

“One less thing to worry about,” the Doctor said eventually, breathing a sigh of relief. “I don’t know why the TARDIS brought us here… maybe she’s just being sentimental.”

Amy smiled. “She’s not the only one.” She hugged the Doctor tight and whispered, “Missed you, raggedy man… I mean, raggedy woman.”

“Missed you too, Pond,” the Doctor whispered back.

* * *

“So how did you two meet the Doctor?” Rory asked Michelle and Catarrah.

“Just dropped out of the sky one night, literally,” Michelle answered. “There was this blue dude with teeth in his face wandering around my hometown killing people, and she popped up with Cat planning to stop him.”

Rory nodded as though this were a perfectly ordinary thing to say. Which, she supposed, it was. She looked to Catarrah next. “So if Michelle’s human, I’m guessing you’re alien?”

Catarrah nodded. “My home planet is called Lupa. This form, however, is not mine.” She looked over at the Doctor. “May I have my true body back, please?”

“Sure,” said the Doctor, fishing her screwdriver out from her coat pocket and pressing the button.

Catarrah swiftly transformed back into her grey-furred humanoid wolf form and stretched, swishing her tail to check that it still worked. “That is much better.”

Rory’s eyes widened. “Well, that’s… different. How did you end up on Earth?”

“I was assigned to locate and eliminate Tzim-Sha, a Stenza warrior,” she replied. “I met the Doctor shortly after I landed, and Michelle while conducting reconnaissance. The three of us did not kill him as my superiors had instructed me to; instead we allowed him to live after impressing upon him the vileness of his crimes.”

“Put another way, I asked him to kill me,” Michelle said. “He refused, and we realized he had principles after all, and convinced him to go home and start convincing his kind not to be a bunch of alien Oathkeepers.”

“You… _asked_ him to kill you?” Rory asked. “Why?”

Michelle didn’t answer for several moments. Catarrah slipped her paw around Michelle’s hand, the rough pads brushing up against the skin of the Earth girl’s palm. It was a simple gesture of support, but effective.

Finally, Michelle spoke. “Before I met the Doctor, I was in a bad place. Real bad. I’d graduated from college with a degree I couldn’t use, interviewed for a million fucking minimum wage jobs and didn’t get any of them, and on top of it all I had to hide in the proverbial closet instead of living as a woman because my parents choose to deny my identity at every opportunity they get. So when Timmy Shaw showed up, I asked him to kill me. And he said no.”

“What happened next?” said Rory, her voice soft, as if she was at work talking to a patient.

“After we sent him packing? I went back to my parents’ place, packed what I could, and ran away from home.” Michelle smiled. “With Cat and the Doctor. I don’t know what’ll happen to us going forward, but I’ll tell you this: it’s a damn sight better than wasting my life in Missouri.”

Rory smiled. “I’m glad you’ve found people that make you happy, Michelle.”

“Me too.” Michelle smiled back. “Anyway, so, you’re a nurse? Where’d that come from?”

Rory jerked a thumb at Amy, “Amy wanted a man in the medical profession, and I found out I was actually pretty good at it, so I went to medical school and got a nursing degree.”

“Did you ever treat any trans people?” asked Michelle.

“Oh, some,” Rory replied. “I’m familiar with the basics, anyway. Why do you ask?”

Michelle shrugged. “Trying to figure out how the hell I’m gonna transition while I’m doing this. The opportunity’s here, may as well make the most of it, yeah?”

“I wish I could help you,” Rory admitted, smiling apologetically, “But I don’t exactly have estradiol just lying around, and even if I did, I’m pretty sure supplying it under the table is illegal no matter what year it is.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” Michelle replied. “I’ve got all the time in the world now.”

Rory nodded, chewing on this statement. “All the trans patients I worked with knew from a young age... was it like that for you?”

Michelle shook her head. “I had an ex-girlfriend who told this story about how, when she was in kindergarten, she announced she wanted to be a mom and everyone laughed at her. I suspect there may have been signs, but I was too dense to realize. I mean, when one of your favorite cartoon shows is _The Powerpuff Girls_ and you enjoy reading books with female protagonists, you’d think it’d be really obvious, right? Not to me, it wasn’t. I didn’t even know that being trans was a thing until high school.”

“What did you do when you found out?” Rory asked.

Michelle looked up at the ceiling, trying to remember. “Let’s see… I used to watch transition timeline videos on YouTube, I came up with a feminine name for myself, asked a close friend to refer to me with female pronouns… it all seemed right, but I refused to believe it for a good couple years because I thought you had to have dysphoria to be trans. It wasn’t ’til I realized how happy I was thinking of myself as a girl and seeing myself as a girl that it all clicked.”

Then something occurred to her, and she smirked. “Ya know, for someone who is theoretically cis, you sure are asking a lot of questions.”

Rory blinked. “I _am_ cis,” she said at last. “I’m only asking as a medical professional.”

Michelle nodded, not fooled for an instant. “Rory, I’m gonna tell you the same thing a friend of mine said to me once: cis people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about their gender.” She yawned. “Hey Doc, are we heading back to the ship any time soon?”

The Doctor looked up as if surprised. “Oh yeah, I forgot humans need sleep… how about you and Catarrah go back to the TARDIS? I’ve got some more reminiscing to do.”

Amy coughed. “Erm, actually, Doctor, bed is sounding pretty good… but I guess we can stay up another hour.”

The Doctor grinned. “Brilliant. See you in the morning, Michelle!”

“G’night, Doc,” Michelle said, catching the TARDIS key the Doctor threw in her direction. “Thanks for the meal, you two,” she told the Ponds. “Cat, let’s hit the road!” With Catarrah walking alongside her, Michelle quickly left the apartment, setting off down the dimly lit streets of Sixties New York.

* * *

The air that night was thick with humidity, so as Michelle walked back toward the TARDIS, the fabric of her shirt clung to her sweat-soaked skin. The half hour trip seemed to stretch into an eternity, it seemed to be more than Michelle could bear.

But eventually, salvation seemed close at hand, Michelle could see the lamp and the glowing police box sign shining like a beacon in the night. Michelle began to walk faster, then she started to jog, and then…

There was the sound of someone rolling the window down on a car with a hand crank, then an authoritative male voice said, “Excuse me, sir, but what exactly do you think you’re doing being dressed like that?”

Michelle felt her blood run cold. “Oh _fuck_.”

“What is wrong?” asked the low, gruff voice of Catarrah somewhere next to her.

“Cop,” Michelle whispered back. “Get to the TARDIS and wait for me, I’m gonna try to talk myself out of this. I don’t need to see the inside of a jail cell again.”

“I am not comfortable with the idea of abandoning you to your fate, Michelle,” Catarrah replied.

“Cat, that’s really sweet and I promise I’ll thank you for this properly a little later, but please, go!” Michelle insisted. “The last thing any of us need is you getting kidnapped by the FBI or something!”

Conceding the point, Catarrah quickly walked the rest of the way toward the TARDIS, opening the doors with a snap of her claws. (It was a trick the Doctor had shown them when they had first moved in, in the event the Doctor herself was unavailable.) She stepped inside and kept the door ajar very slightly, so she could hear whatever it was Michelle had planned.

The police officer climbed out of his vehicle and approached Michelle, who was now standing a beneath a street lamp with her hands in the air to show she was unarmed. The officer wore the standard uniform of a dark shirt with a hat and matching trousers. His silver police badge glinted in the light, and above it was a name tag that read “B. Shears.” He was at least 6’2”, and looked strong and athletic.

Approaching Michelle, he glared down at her, frowning deeply. “Let me ask you again,” he said coldly. “Why are you dressed like a woman when you’re pretty obviously a man?”

“Because I want to dress like this, officer,” Michelle replied, trying very hard not to show how scared she was. Having an asshole alien priest call her a man was one thing, but having an officer of the NYPD do the same thing was a different kettle of fish. “I’m not doing anything wrong. What about the freedom of expression clause in the Constitution?”

“Not applicable,” Shears snarled. “What are you, some kinda faggot?”

“The hell I am,” Michelle shot back. “You can’t arrest me!”

“I sure can,” Shears replied, taking a pair of handcuffs from his belt and holding them up. “There’s a law here which says men can’t dress as women, and you’ve got a bra on.”

By this point, Michelle was backing up toward the TARDIS doors, with Officer Shears advancing on her. She reached around behind her and her fingertips brushed up against the door handle. “Okay, how about I just step inside this police box and arrest myself?” She pointed to the glowing sign above her head which read “POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX.”

“No need,” Shears said, and before Michelle could react, he grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around, cuffing both her wrists. Then he began to drag her away toward his car, completely ignoring her shouts of protest.

* * *

The Doctor was just leaving the apartment the Ponds lived in when Catarrah came running up to her, her ears pinned back flat against her skull. “Doctor, Michelle has been captured by the authorities here,” she said, unable to hide the snarl from her voice.

“What?! Why?!” the Doctor exclaimed, looking shocked. “She wouldn’t harm a fly!”

“The human male who arrested her believed she was wearing clothes not intended for the gender he perceived her to be,” Catarrah replied.

The Doctor groaned and slapped herself in the forehead with the palm of her hand. “Of course he did... I should’ve realized she wouldn’t be safe in this time zone... give me just a second, Catarrah!” She dove back inside the apartment and called out, “Amy, do you still have a smartphone on you?”

“Yeah, should do!” Amy called back. (At some point in her travels, the Doctor had sonicked it into a superphone with universal roaming, allowing her to use it even when visiting times before the telephone had even been invented.) She grabbed the phone from where it was plugged into a wall socket and handed it to the Doctor. “What do you need it for?”

“Michelle’s been arrested by the police,” the Doctor replied, already pulling up the phone’s maps app and searching for police stations nearby. “Let’s see... she was arrested outside Christopher Park, so that means...”

“There’s a police station on Tenth Street,” Rory supplied, finishing the Doctor’s sentence. “So she’s probably there.”

The Doctor smiled. “Thanks a lot, you two. Amy, I’ll bring your phone back as quick as I can!” She left, and followed the phone’s directions toward the police station, Catarrah at her heels.

* * *

Michelle sighed as she stared out the window of the holding cell. The good news was, that asshole cop had removed the handcuffs, so she had freedom of movement again. The bad news was, he’d misgendered her repeatedly and confiscated the padded bra she’d gotten from the TARDIS. And of course, she’d been arrested, or almost arrested, for the third time in as many days.

“Ugh... first my mom called the cops on me after I ran away, then I got arrested in that village of Doctor devotees, and now this.” She groaned, running her fingers through her curls. “Please tell me this isn’t going to happen everywhere we go...”

* * *

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Catarrah had reached the police station. Catarrah was disguised as a human again, and walked quickly beside the Doctor as the Time Lady headed inside, walking right up to the desk sergeant and saying, “Excuse me, but I think you have a friend of mine locked up in here.”

“So what if I do?” asked the sergeant, the very same man who had arrested Michelle just a short time ago.

“I’d like you to release her now, that’s what,” the Doctor replied coolly, staring directly into the man’s eyes.

Shears scoffed. “I don’t have to listen to you, you’re just a random citizen, and a lady at that. Go back to the kitchen where you belong, Blondie.”

“Except I think you _do_ have to listen to me,” the Doctor continued, ignoring the insult. “As it happens, I’m on a secret mission from the President himself, and the woman you just arrested is one of my top operatives. Release her, and I won’t put in a phone call to the White House. How does that sound?”

Shears began to laugh. It was a cold, mirthless laugh, the kind of laugh that only men who wanted to use the powers of the badge to hurt their fellow human beings were capable of producing. “I never arrested a woman, Blondie! I arrested a man dressed as one! And unless you wanna join him, you and your Negro friend over there can clear out right now, you hear me?!”

Before the Doctor could say another word, Catarrah drew back her fist and punched the man in the face, sending him to the ground and knocking him out cold. Her teeth were bared in an angry snarl. “Hurt my friends again and I shall ensure that you live to regret it,” she whispered, before setting off for the holding cells at a fast walk.

“Catarrah, did you not make a pledge not to do things like that anymore?” the Doctor asked reproachfully.

“Indeed, I did not,” Catarrah answered. “I only said I would not kill. The human is still alive... unfortunately.”

* * *

Michelle was reading a book on her phone when she heard the telltale buzzing sound of the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver going off, followed by the clicking of a lock and the sliding of the door. She clicked off her phone and smiled. “Alright, the cavalry is here! I was hoping you two would show up!”

“I am glad you are unharmed, Michelle,” Catarrah said, smiling faintly. “I was most displeased with the news of your imprisonment.”

“Meaning, she just punched a police officer in the face!” the Doctor protested, as if this were the most horrible thing in the world.

“...And?” Michelle blinked. “You spend too much time around Brits, Doctor. Not all cops are upstanding members of the community. Some of them are more like Darren Wilson or Jason Stockley: big bullies with badges.”

So saying, Michelle led the other two out of the police station and back toward the TARDIS, more than ready for a good night’s sleep.

* * *

Michelle might have had a good night’s rest, but Rory Williams wasn’t so lucky. She lay in her bed beside Amy, (who _had_ managed to fall asleep) reflecting not only on the Doctor suddenly dropping back into her life for the first time in decades, but also the people she was traveling with, Michelle Lykos in particular. She thought about her childhood, especially her friendship with Amy. And as she thought about this, she began to wonder: _Why attracted me to her in the first place_?

The first thing, she supposed, was Amy’s personality. Amy had always been an independent woman, determined to get through life on her own terms. She took charge in a situation and didn’t take nonsense from anyone, not even the Doctor. She was sure of herself and secure of her identity. Amy Pond was, essentially, all the things Rory wasn’t.

Rory had been shy when she was younger. Shy around boys her age, (whom she never hung out with if she could avoid it) shy around girls who weren’t Amy, shy around adults. It wasn’t until the Doctor turned up and she became a plastic Roman that she learned to stand up for herself. (Once, somewhere in the 1580s, she had a rematch of that broom and sword fight with that one fish vampire and _won_.) Through knowing the Doctor, and thus Amy, Rory had become a stronger person, performing masculinity to the best of her ability and avoiding becoming a macho jerk, like that Jeff guy Amy used to hang around with.

But it wasn’t enough. Rory had never had any particular attachment to the idea of being assigned male at birth, it was just something that happened to her. She couldn’t be sure, but she supposed that had she been born a woman, she’d be more or less the same as she was now. (And if she _had_ been born a woman, would that have meant she’d become the Roman equivalent of She-Ra?) Once she even tried Amy’s police outfit on to see if it would fit. It didn’t, but she hadn’t exactly hated the experience either. It felt… nice. Like something matched up. But what could that have been?

Rory wasn’t sure. But even if she had been, would it have mattered? It wasn’t like the two of them lived in a time where experimentation with one’s gender presentation was allowed. Quite the opposite, she and Amy knew that this time strictly enforced gender roles. Men worked, and women stayed home and cooked in the kitchen. According to social standards of this time, being a married couple with no kids and a “husband” who cooked was downright revolutionary. (Good thing Amy’s boss at the _Record_ was liberal.)

_There’s no way I could be a woman_, Rory decided. _Right?_ But then she thought: _But if I’m not a woman… why am I up late at night thinking about this?_

Unbidden, words Michelle had said a few hours ago floated back into her mind: _“Cis people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about their gender.”_

_But I _**_am_ **_cis!_ insisted Rory. _I’ve got to be! Right?!_

But with how much Michelle had told her tonight, she had a pretty good idea of what the American would say if confronted with that question: _“Rory, you’re about as much of a cis person as I am.”_

And that told Rory everything she needed to know.

* * *

The next morning began like any other morning, at least where Amy was concerned. Friday was their shared day off, and they were at least thinking about going on one more trip in the TARDIS. Their fate may have been fixed, but surely there was plenty of wiggle room for them to visit some planet or other. But first there was the matter of breakfast.

Amy smiled at the sound of frying bacon on the skillet. Bacon, eggs, and sausage seemed like a great way to start the day. “Morning, honey,” she said as she walked into the kitchen to begin brewing coffee, kissing Rory’s cheek.

“Morning,” Rory replied as she flipped the bacon strips over then started whisking eggs. “Sleep alright?”

“Like a dog,” Amy answered. “You?”

Rory shrugged. “Not really… couldn’t stop thinking about that woman the Doctor was with, Michelle.”

“Yeah?” Amy chuckled. “You two were talking for a long time. What, were you sharing innermost secrets or something?”

“She was,” Rory replied. “You know how Americans are, once you get them talking they never stop. Bit like the Doctor in that way, I guess.” There was a popping sound, and Rory grabbed a pair of wooden tongs out of one of the drawers, placing two slices of toast on two large plates.

Once the food was ready, Amy and Rory carried their respective plates to the dining room table and sat down to eat. The window was open, and a warm breeze blew through the kitchen area. The two of them were quiet as they ate, but Rory could tell from _many _years of experience that the red-haired Scot was enjoying herself.

“So... you said you were up thinking a lot last night,” Amy began. “What about?”

“Well...” Rory chewed meditatively on a piece of bacon before answering. “You remember that time you thought I was gay?”

“Yeah,” Amy replied, blinking. “Oh god, you’re not going to divorce me again, are you? I hated doing that last time!”

“What?! No, no, no. God, no. I’d never do that to you again,” Rory said quickly. “I mean, I _am_ gay. It’s just that I like women.”

Amy paused. “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work like that,” she eventually said. “Men can’t be lesbians.”

“That’s just it though!” Rory continued. “I think I’m a woman!”

_That_ got Amy’s attention. She spat out her coffee and exclaimed. “You... what?!”

“It just hit me last night,” Rory began to explain. “I never had any boy friends at school, and the only girls that would hang out with me were you and Mels... I wanted to be more like you, so I kept trying to do things that I thought would impress you.”

“Like when you pretended to be in a band,” Amy said, remembering. “Okay, yeah, go on. You were kind of a dork for years and years.”

Rory nodded. “Then there was all that stuff with me turning into a plastic Roman, how I spent two thousand years guarding you in the Pandorica. And it helped. I got more confident. But it still felt like something wasn’t right.”

“What kind of something?” Amy asked.

“Well...” Rory paused again. “There was this time where I tried out that kissogram outfit of yours. The police one.”

“Oh yeah?” Amy raised an eyebrow, amused. “Did it fit?”

“Nah, I looked awful in it,” admitted Rory. “But I liked how it felt to wear. You know what I mean?”

Amy nodded. “And so... because you tried my clothes on, you’re a woman now?”

Rory shook her head. “I think I always was, it just took doing that to help me realize it.”

“Right, gotcha.” Amy leaned forward in her seat. “Only one thing left to do now, I think.”

“What’s that?” Rory asked.

Amy kissed her and smiled. “Welcome to the sisterhood.”

* * *

For Amy and Rory, it had been 30 years since they last stepped through the TARDIS doors. As Amy took a look around at the [_new_](https://bit.ly/2wT98AT) console room, she smiled. “So, you’ve redecorated… I really like it. Looks a bit like a local coffee bar or something.”

“And so many places to sit!” Rory added, crossing over to an armchair and sitting down. “This is much better than the old room, especially at our age!”

“Glad you like it,” said the Doctor, smiling at her two former companions. The TARDIS hummed and beeped happily. “Oooh, looks like she’s missed you too!”

At that moment, Michelle came stumbling into the console room, her brown curly hair a wild bushy tangle. She wore a grey t-shirt and pajama bottoms done up in the style of the transgender pride flag. “Morning,” she said to the room at large.

“Good morning, Michelle,” Rory said. “I have some news you might like.”

Michelle was about to ask what that was when she paused for a second, considered their previous conversation, and smiled. “Congratulations, sister. I kinda figured you’d come out.”

Amy stared at Michelle in surprise. “You _knew_?”

Michelle shrugged. “Kind of. I just had a hunch that paid off. It’s hard to explain unless you’re trans yourself.” She smiled. “I think this calls for a celebration.”

“I agree,” said the Doctor. “Where will we go? And when?”

Rory hummed thoughtfully. “Michelle, what was that custard place you mentioned at dinner last night?”

“Ted Drewes,” Michelle replied. “There’s two locations, but almost everyone goes to the Chippewa place. You up for it?”

Rory nodded. “Yeah, I think I could eat something sweet.”

“Awesome!” Michelle pulled up the stand on her phone and handed it to the Doctor, who plugged the address into the TARDIS’ navigation systems, setting the year for Michelle’s home time of 2019. Then she pulled the lever, and the room was filled with a loud wheezing and groaning sound as the blue box’s engines roared into vibrant life.

* * *

Around 980 miles and 50 years away, a blue police box materialized on an innocuous [street corner](https://photos.riverfronttimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/01TedDrewesByPhilipLearaFlickr.jpg) in the American Midwest, where there was a building with white siding and pretend icicles hanging down from the roof eaves. It was evening, and the summer air was warm and sticky. Grouped around the building was a large crowd of people, some of whom were standing in front of a menu board, and still more were standing by windows, waiting to receive the frozen custard they’d ordered. A neon sign next to the parking lot proclaimed “TED DREWES FROZEN CUSTARD.”

“I’ve been here before!” the Doctor chirped, stepping out the TARDIS doors with Michelle, Catarrah, Amy, and Rory following along behind her. “Ages and ages ago my granddaughter and I rented a purple Oldsmobile and drove across Route 66.”

“The one from the song?” Amy asked. “I didn’t know it ran through here.”

Michelle nodded, “Oh, it absolutely does. Cuts right through the heart of town, and this place is one of the stops.” She looked at the Doctor. “What’d you get the last time you were here?”

“A triple chocolate pistachio sundae with strawberries,” the Doctor replied. “Ian wanted a plain custard.”

Michelle laughed. “Oh, plain… how adorable. You don’t go to Ted Drewes and order a freaking plain custard, it just isn’t done.” She led the other four to the [menu board](https://bit.ly/2wPVGxG) and gestured grandly. “Ladies, follow my lead.” She consulted the board, looking thoughtful. “Let’s see… last time I had the St. Louis Classic…”

“What’s that?” Rory asked.

“Gooey butter cake base topped with vanilla custard, tart cherries, and a Dad’s oatmeal cookie,” Michelle replied. “It’s _delicious._ I think I might get it again, but how about the rest of you?”

“Yeah, a Classic sounds good,” said Rory.

“I think I’ll have a Cardinal Sin,” Amy said, which was a vanilla concrete served with tart cherries and hot fudge. “Wonder why it’s called that.”

“In honor of our baseball team, the Cardinals,” Michelle explained. “Partially anyway. The other part is because we have a _huge_ Catholic population.”

“I do not know what a Terramizzou is meant to be,” Catarrah said, “But I think I shall try it.”

“And I’ll get a Muddy Mississippi!” the Doctor decided.

“All excellent choices,” Michelle said with a grin, taking her phone out of her pocket. “Don’t worry about money, I’ll take care of it!” She held the phone up to the card reader, laid her finger on the home button, and their concretes were paid for. In fairly short order, five yellow paper cups were placed on the counter, and Michelle distributed the orders out to their owners.

Amy grabbed the plastic spoon and dug in, smiling. “Whoa… this is great!”

“Best frozen custard in the world,” Michelle said with a grin, happily digging into her own cup. “Ooh, and watch this!” She turned her cup upside down, and to everyone’s surprise, the custard stayed inside the cup without falling out.

“How does _that_ happen?” asked the Doctor. “Some kind of anti-gravity component in the cups?”

Michelle shook her head. “No one knows, they don’t give out the recipe. It just happens!” She led the way back to the TARDIS, and they all sat down in the console room’s various chairs and couches to eat the rest of their concretes.

As they ate, Michelle brought up something that had been on her mind for the last several hours. “Doctor... I want to go to Stonewall.”

“We can go whenever you want,” said the Doctor coolly. “Just not 1969. It’s not safe for you there. You were arrested once, I’m not going to let that happen again.”

Michelle put down her empty paper cup. “Guess what. It’s not safe in 2019 either,” she said. “I’m never going to be safe. As long as there are people out there who disagree with my existence, any safety there is for me is A, temporary, and B, imaginary. And you know what? I’m okay with that.”

“You’re _okay_ with that?” the Doctor echoed. “Why?”

“Because it also means, if I’m gonna run the risk of being arrested by some jackass in blue, I might as well go all the way,” Michelle replied. “I’m tired of pretending to be a cis boy because I’m too scared to look like a girl. Pride isn’t about rainbows and capitalist allyship, it’s about fighting for our rights. Stormé DeLarverie, Marsha P. Johnson, and Sylvia Rivera didn’t put their lives at risk so the Human Rights Campaign could organize a march for marriage equality and then ignore workplace discrimination. I don’t want to hide anymore, Doctor.”

The Doctor got up and pulled Michelle into a hug, then said: “Alright… I’ll take you. But on one condition.” She pointed to Catarrah and Rory. “Those two ladies have to go with you.”

Michelle grinned. “Sounds like a fair deal to me.” Getting up, she walked over to where Rory was sitting and asked, “Wanna go check out the wardrobe? The TARDIS’ selection of women’s clothes is really impressive.”

Rory smiled, blushing faintly at being thought of as just one of the girls. “Yeah, sure. Is it in the same place as it was last time, Doctor?”

“First door on the left, second right, under the stairs, past the bins, fifth door on the left!” chirped the Doctor.

Michelle grabbed Rory’s hand and pulled her along toward the stairs, beaming. “Come along Pond, let’s get you suited up!” And with that, they were gone.

Amy smirked a bit at the Doctor. “Wasn’t that _your _line?”

“Oh, shut up,” the Doctor grumbled, not actually meaning it.

* * *

A battered police box materialized a short ways away from the Stonewall Inn, the blue paintwork largely concealed in the darkness of the night. Michelle, Catarrah, (in her human guise) and Rory exited the box, all three clad in outfits that were more or less period appropriate, (and as flamboyant as they could get away with) and most importantly would help keep them cool amidst the humidity of the late June evening air.

It was just after midnight, and the three women could hear the hits of 1969 playing through the speakers inside. At the door they were met by a bouncer who asked for $3 each, which they quickly provided. Going inside, they found the main dance floor was painted black, with black lights glowing above their heads. People of all races and genders danced and talked. None of the time travelers did much dancing though, preferring to simply watch the crowd and nurse their drinks.

One girl stopped dancing long enough to pay attention to the trio. “Aren’t you a bit old for this?” she asked Rory.

“Not _that_ old,” Rory said bashfully, blushing a little. It was a lie, and they all knew it.

Michelle covered for her by saying, “Oh relax, me and her are young enough to make up for it.”

The local girl nodded. “Works for me. What’re your names?”

“I’m Michelle, that’s Cat, and this is…” Michelle paused.

“Rori, with an I,” said Rori. “You?”

“Sadie,” said the girl. “Good to meet you all.” She smiled at Michelle. “Dance with me?”

“If you don’t mind dancing with a girl with two left feet,” Michelle said.

“Of course not! Come on!” She grabbed Michelle and pulled her onto the dance floor, and into a spirited rendition of the Twist.

* * *

Around 1 AM, 8 police officers entered the club and announced, "Police! We're taking the place!”

At once, the music stopped in mid-song and normal lights were turned on, making everyone blink as their vision adjusted. Other patrons tried to run for the doors and got blocked, but not Rori, Michelle, and Catarrah. They stood tense, bracing themselves for the moment when a cop would come to arrest them.

“Well, well, well,” drawled one of the plainclothes officers. “If it ain’t the bitch I arrested the other night.” Officer Shears smirked as he locked eyes with Michelle. “And you brought a couple friends this time! How sweet!” He held up three pairs of handcuffs. “You’re coming with me right now, and this time we’ll book you properly.”

“Wanna bet?” Michelle asked. “Come on, all I want is a night on the town with a couple friends and a drink! What’s wrong with that?”

“A lot of things,” Shears replied. “I’m placing you under arrest here and now!” He clipped one of the cuffs around Michelle’s arm, but before he could read her rights, angry shouts were heard outside.

Someone shouted "Why don't you guys do something?” at some bystanders on the street, and what followed was absolute pandemonium. Leaving Michelle and Rori behind, Shears ran outside to try and assist his fellow officers in calming the angry crowd, but it was fruitless. The crowd outside had grown to at least 500 people, all of whom were now throwing whatever they had to hand: beer bottles, bricks, coins and more besides.

As the violence escalated, Rori shouted to Michelle: “I think now might be a good time to get back to the TARDIS!”

“Lemme do one last thing!” Michelle called back, picking up a brick. She threw it as hard as she could and yelled, “THIS ONE’S FOR YOU, KREWSON!” Then, grabbing Rori’s hand in hers, the three of them dived into the crowd of furious queer folk and enraged cops.

The going wasn’t easy. More than once they had to avoid getting hit by police or protestors, having several near misses. One of the cops did eventually manage to grab Michelle but only for a few seconds, Catarrah pulled her away just in time. As they reached the TARDIS, all three of then had their clothes torn and ripped, with cuts and bruises adorning their bodies.

As they clambered inside, the Doctor helped them up and ran her sonic screwdriver over their injuries, healing them at once. “I sure hope you’re happy,” she told Michelle, frowning. “You’re lucky you weren’t arrested again!”

Michelle beamed. “You kidding? That was the greatest thing _ever_. Hundreds of queer folk brought together, fighting for our rights just to live like ordinary people, and for a place where we can be ourselves. _This_ is what Pride is for, protesting against a system that wants us silenced. I’m glad we came, Doctor. Thank you.” And she embraced the shorter woman as tightly as she could.

* * *

“So this is it, huh?” Amy asked, standing outside the TARDIS the following morning. “Back in the box, off to save planets and fight monsters?”

The Doctor nodded. “Just like always, Pond.” She smiled again, but it seemed sadder this time. “I wish you could come. I miss you.” She patted the TARDIS fondly. “She does too.”

Amy nodded. “I wish I could too, Doctor… but like you said once, everything’s gotta end sometime, and my time ended ages back. Besides: I’m happy here. I’ve got a wife now!”

“And you make an amazing couple,” said the Doctor, sighing as she hugged her mother-in-law. “You’ll call if you need me, right?”

“Of course,” said Amy, smiling. “See you sometime.”

“Bye,” said the Doctor, opening the police box doors with a snap of her fingers, like she used to do. She stepped through, and a few seconds later, the old box disappeared with its usual wheezing and groaning sound.

* * *

In a cemetery somewhere in the outskirts of New York City was a gravestone. A few lifetimes ago, the Doctor had watched in horror as her in-laws were taken back into the past by a Weeping Angel, preventing her from rescuing them. She’d been inconsolable back then, but times had changed. She stood in that cemetery now, a bouquet of sunflowers in her hand. Michelle was next to her, holding a small flag composed of blue, pink, and white stripes.

“You never said they died,” Michelle said softly, peering at the marker.

The Doctor nodded. “When we saw them, they had about 20 years still to live… 87 years isn’t bad for a human.”

“Not at all,” Michelle agreed, watching the Doctor place the bouquet down. She placed the flag next to it, and smiled. “I think they’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah. No question about it,” said the Doctor, smiling slightly, though her eyes were wet with tears. “I never thought I’d ever see them again… but I’m glad we ended up there. Thanks for being with me.”

Michelle smiled back. “Always, Doc. I got your back.” She turned away, and followed the Doctor back to the TARDIS.

The inscription now read:

> _In loving memory_
> 
> _RORI GUINEVERE POND_
> 
> _AGED 82_
> 
> _And Her loving wife_
> 
> _AMELIA JESSICA POND_
> 
> _AGED 87_

As the box disappeared, the flag blew around silently in the resulting breeze, then was still.


End file.
